Former Players and Fixers Charged in Scheme to Rig NCAA and CBA Basketball Games
Federal prosecutors say 26 people, including current and former college players, were charged in a cross-border plot to fix games and launder betting proceeds.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:Philadelphia federal prosecutors on Thursday unsealed an indictment that prosecutors say exposes a wide-reaching criminal ring that manipulated outcomes in both the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and NCAA Division I men's basketball. Authorities allege the conspiracy recruited players to underperform in exchange for cash, then placed large bets against those teams to generate illicit profits.
Related: 13 Former NCAA Basketball Players Under Probe for Betting
Investigation Details and Scope
The indictment charges 26 defendants, including more than a dozen active or recently active Division I players and a small network of alleged "fixers" who coordinated bribes and wagers. Prosecutors say the plot began with two games in the CBA in 2023 and expanded into the U.S. college game, with attempts to rig contests as recently as January 2025.
According to the charging documents, the scheme ultimately involved more than 39 players across at least 17 Division I programs and targeted more than 29 games. Prosecutors allege the conspirators placed millions of dollars in bets and distributed "substantial proceeds" among themselves, while paying players typical bribes of $10,000 to $30,000 per game. In one episode described in the indictment, fixers deposited nearly $200,000 in bribe proceeds and shared winnings into the storage locker of former NBA player Antonio Blakeney in Florida.
Among those named are Simeon Cottle, Carlos Hart, Oumar Koureissi and Camian Shell, four players who, prosecutors said, appeared for their teams within days of the indictment, though the complaints do not allege misconduct during this season. The charges filed in federal court in Philadelphia include bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy.
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf characterized the case as an "international criminal conspiracy", saying the indictments reveal a "significant corruption of the integrity of sports". Prosecutors indicated the probe is continuing and that additional, unnamed participants may have been involved but were not charged in this superseding indictment.
Related: Basketball Betting Could Soon Become Legal in Hong Kong
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Industry Reaction and Next Steps
The case arrives amid heightened scrutiny of gambling's role in college athletics since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on sports betting in 2018. Betting volumes have soared: the American Gaming Association reported that wagering handle produced more than $11 billion in gross revenue for the first three quarters of last year, an increase of more than 13% year over year.
The NCAA has long prohibited athletes and staff from wagering on college competitions. The regulation was briefly relaxed last year to permit student-athletes to bet on professional sports, a change that the association rescinded in November. The organization has also been conducting internal probes: recent NCAA actions resulted in at least 10 lifetime bans tied to gambling violations and dozens of investigations into player betting activity.
Legal experts and compliance officers say the indictment underscores persistent vulnerabilities at the intersection of amateur sports and an expanding legal betting market. A senior compliance official at a Division I program, speaking on background, warned that the combination of sophisticated offshore betting networks, social-media-driven influencers and direct contact between trainers and players creates a potent risk vector for match manipulation.
Prosecutors and regulators now face several parallel tasks: bringing the charged defendants to trial, identifying co-conspirators who remain at large, and working with leagues, schools and sportsbooks to tighten detection and reporting. Past crackdowns have included a wide federal takedown last year that charged more than 30 people in illegal gambling operations tied to professional basketball.
As the case proceeds in Philadelphia, athletic departments, the NCAA and state regulators are expected to reassess education, monitoring and disciplinary efforts aimed at preventing future schemes. Prosecutors have signaled that cooperation agreements and further indictments are possible as they pursue those who allegedly orchestrated payments, placed bets and recruited players.
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