A federal indictment unveiled on Thursday reveals that 26 people, including 20 current and former college basketball players, have been charged in connection to a point-shaving scheme that impacted 17 different schools.
They currently face charges of sports bribery and wire fraud as they are accused of recruiting and bribing other players to underperform on the court. They then placed huge bets on these fixed matchups, often winning millions of dollars.
TOP NEWS
Four MBB players charged in the indictment, Simeon Cottle, Carlos Hart, Camian Shell and Oumar Koureissi have all played for their current teams in the last week, but none of them are accused of any wrongdoing this season.
The scheme reportedly dated back to the 2023-24 season, and carried over into the 2024-25 campaign.
Former All-American and NBA player Antonio Blakeney was named in the indictment for participating in the illegal bribery, but has been charged separately.
“The Association has and will continue to aggressively pursue sports betting violations in college athletics using a layered integrity monitoring program that covers over 22,000 contests,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said on Thursday. “We urge all student-athletes to make well-informed choices to avoid jeopardizing the game and their eligibility.”
If found guilty, the bribery charges carry a maximum prison sentence of five years while the fraud charges carry a maximum sntence of 20 years.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
