20 Charged in College Basketball Fixing Scheme

Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia charged 20 individuals on Thursday with orchestrating a widespread betting scheme that involved bribing college basketball players to manipulate the outcomes of NCAA Division I games and Chinese Basketball Association contests. The indictment, unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, accuses the defendants of wire fraud, bribery in sports contests, and related conspiracy charges, spanning activities from 2022 through the 2024-25 season.

Authorities described the operation as a conspiracy led by a group of fixers who recruited at least 39 active and former college athletes across more than 17 teams to engage in point-shaving. Prosecutors said the players, primarily from mid-major programs, accepted payments ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game to underperform, ensuring their teams failed to cover betting spreads. The scheme allegedly affected over 29 NCAA games during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, with wagers placed through multiple legalized sportsbooks to obscure the activity. Teams implicated include DePaul, Nicholls State, Tulane, La Salle, Fordham, Saint Louis, Buffalo, Southern Miss, North...