PHILADELPHIA — In what federal authorities are calling one of the most significant blows to the integrity of collegiate athletics in decades, prosecutors in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania unsealed a sweeping 70-page indictment on Thursday. The charges detail an international criminal conspiracy involving bettors, professional “fixers,” and dozens of student-athletes who allegedly conspired to rig the outcomes of at least 29 NCAA Division I men’s basketball games, as well as professional contests in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
The investigation, which has already led to the indictment of 26 individuals—including 15 players who competed in the 2024–25 NCAA season—exposes a sophisticated “point-shaving” network. Prosecutors allege the scheme was designed to manipulate the margin of victory in games, allowing high-stakes gamblers to cash in on “sure-thing” wagers while defrauding legal sportsbooks and the betting public of millions of dollars.
The Anatomy of the Fix
According to U.S. Attorney David Metcalf, the conspiracy operated from approximately September 2022 through February 2025. The scheme typically followed a predatory pattern: professional fixers would identify and recruit college players, often targeting those at mid-major programs who were perceived to be under less scrutiny or who had not secured significant Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals.
These players were allegedly offered bribe payments ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game. In exchange, the athletes were instructed to “shave points”—a form of manipulation where a player intentionally misses shots, commits turnovers, or plays lax defense to ensure their team does not “cover the spread.”
One particularly egregious example cited in the indictment involved a game where a player allegedly instructed a teammate during a late-game timeout not to score any more points to ensure the final margin fell within the bettors’ desired range.
Key Figures and Global Reach
The indictment identifies former professional basketball player Antonio Blakeney as a central figure in the web. Blakeney, a former college star who played 76 games in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls, allegedly became involved while playing for the Jiangsu Dragons in China. Prosecutors claim Blakeney received a $200,000 cash payment, delivered to a Florida storage unit, to fix CBA games during the 2022–23 season.
Leveraging his status and connections, Blakeney and other “high-stakes” gamblers—including Shane Hennen and Marves Fairley—allegedly expanded the operation into the American collegiate ranks. The indictment lists more than 17 Division I schools where players were allegedly compromised, including:
- DePaul University
- La Salle University
- Tulane University
- Northwestern State University
- Buffalo
- North Carolina A&T
- Mississippi Valley State
- University of New Orleans
The conspiracy was so pervasive that it reportedly utilized high-fidelity data and insider information to place wagers at brick-and-mortar locations, such as the Rivers Casino in Philadelphia, as well as through various offshore accounts.
A “Significant Corruption of Integrity”
“This case represents a significant corruption of the integrity of sports,” U.S. Attorney Metcalf told reporters. “The defendants didn’t just cheat the system; they cheated the fans who believe in the fairness of the game and the many honest student-athletes who compete with heart and soul every day.”
The timing of the indictment is a major blow to the NCAA, which has been grappling with the rapid expansion of legalized sports betting since the 2018 Supreme Court ruling that overturned the federal ban on the practice. While the NCAA has implemented aggressive monitoring programs, the sheer scale of this “international criminal conspiracy” suggests that the financial incentives for bad actors are outpacing current safeguards.
NCAA President Charlie Baker issued a statement following the announcement, reiterating the association’s call for the elimination of “prop bets” on individual college athletes, which many believe create unique vulnerabilities for player coercion.
The Human Cost
While the fixers face the most severe federal charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bribery, the impact on the involved student-athletes is total. The NCAA has already moved to issue lifetime bans to players implicated in the scheme. Names like Cedquavious Hunter, Dyquavian Short, and Jamond Vincent—formerly of the University of New Orleans—have been stripped of their eligibility following findings that they manipulated performances in seven different games.
For many of these young men, a momentary lapse in judgment for a five-figure payout has resulted in the permanent end of their athletic careers and potential prison time. Federal investigators noted that text messages recovered from the players’ phones were “damning,” with one player explicitly texting a third party that he and his teammates planned to “throw the game.”
The Road Ahead
The unsealing of these indictments is expected to be just the beginning. Federal prosecutors indicated that the investigation is ongoing, with additional players and games under review. This case is also linked to a broader federal crackdown on illegal gambling that recently saw charges filed against NBA players and coaches, including a separate probe involving Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups.
As the sports world digests the magnitude of the scandal, the conversation is shifting toward more stringent federal regulation. “The sportsbooks would not have paid out those wagers had they known that the defendants fixed those games,” the indictment reads. The financial fallout for the gaming industry is expected to be substantial, but the damage to the “purity” of college basketball may be irreparable.
Sources & Links
- Al Jazeera: Fifteen former NCAA players charged in US-China basketball rigging case
- ABC10: 15 former NCAA players charged in alleged scheme to rig basketball games
- LiveMint: Major college basketball point-shaving scandal: Over 20 individuals implicated
- NCAA.org: 6 former men’s basketball student-athletes committed NCAA violations involving betting-related game manipulation
- Front Office Sports: 20 Named in NCAA, Chinese Basketball Fixing Scheme
- Associated Press: NBA gambling ring also includes games involving at least 3 college programs
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