{"id":2538328,"date":"2026-01-15T20:18:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T01:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/over-two-dozen-charged-in-massive-scheme-to-rig-college-basketball-games-2\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T20:20:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T01:20:27","slug":"over-two-dozen-charged-in-massive-scheme-to-rig-college-basketball-games-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/over-two-dozen-charged-in-massive-scheme-to-rig-college-basketball-games-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Over two dozen charged in &#8216;massive scheme&#8217; to rig college basketball games"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fover-two-dozen-charged-in-massive-scheme-to-rig-college-basketball-games-2%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2538328&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Federal prosecutors charged 26 people in what U.S. Attorney David Metcalf called a &#8220;massive&#8221; international point\u2011shaving conspiracy that targeted NCAA Division I men&#8217;s basketball. From September 2022 to February last year, gamblers placed bets and paid players tens of thousands of dollars to intentionally underperform so wagers would pay off.The scheme initially involved fixed games in the Chinese Basketball Association-allegedly including former NBA player Antonio Blakeney and associates Marvis Fairley and Shane Hennen-before shifting to U.S. college games. Numerous programs were affected, including teams from Butler, Georgetown, St. John&#8217;s, Tulane, Alabama State, DePaul, duquesne, Florida Atlantic, Kent State, and others. Investigators say conspirators used insiders-alumni,trainers,recruiters,and former players-to recruit athletes and lend legitimacy to the operation.The NCAA, whose president Charlie Baker acknowledged the charges, had already been investigating most of the named teams; the arrests follow earlier bans of three Division I players for sports\u2011betting-related game manipulation.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Over two dozen charged in &lsquo;massive scheme&rsquo; to rig college basketball games<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2474376\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4417351\/federal-prosecutor-minnesota-fraud-scandal-resigns-us-attorney-office\/\">Federal prosecutors<\/a> charged 26 people in a massive college basketball point-shaving scheme Thursday, which involved numerous players and teams from <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ncaa\/\">NCAA<\/a> Division I men&rsquo;s basketball.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/college-basketball\/\">College basketball <\/a>players were bribed to throw games and enrich sports gamblers during a recent period from September 2022 to February of last year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4420895\/new-york-city-sues-motoclick-stealing-money\/\">New York City sues food delivery app for &#8216;stealing&#8217; money from workers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/4420564\/judge-declines-paramount-request-expedite-warner-bros-lawsuit\/\">Judge declines Paramount request to expedite Warner Bros. lawsuit<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4420345\/democrat-led-states-push-anti-ice-bills-may-violate-supremacy-clause\/\">Democrat-led states push anti-ICE bills that may violate supremacy clause<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, David Metcalf, described the scheme as &ldquo;massive&rdquo; and an &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-got-it-newsmax-reporter-emerald-robinson-national-security-source-confirms-a-piece-of-hardware-has-been-secured-in-germany\/\" title=\"We Got It! - Newsmax Reporter Emerald Robinson: National Security Source Confirms &quot;A Piece of Hardware Has Been Secured&quot; in Germany\">international criminal conspiracy<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It enveloped the world of college basketball,&rdquo; he said at a news conference in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n<p>The gamblers often placed bets and then recruited players with the promise of sums in the tens of thousands if they could purposely underperform in their games. If the players properly underperformed, the gamblers would win their bets, often against the teams of the bribed players.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;For example, if a team was favored to lose by 4 points, the player would receive a bribe to underperform so that his team would lose by more than that,&rdquo; Metcalf said.<\/p>\n<p>Several prominent schools&rsquo; teams games were involved in the scheme: Abilene Christian, Alabama State, Butler,&nbsp;DePaul, Duquesne, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Fordham, Georgetown,&nbsp;Kennesaw State, Kent State, La Salle, McNeese State, Nicholls State, Ohio University, St. Louis University, St. John&rsquo;s, SUNY Buffalo, Tulane, and Western Michigan University.<\/p>\n<p>The betting scheme began with bets placed on Chinese Basketball Association games. Former Chicago Bulls player Antonio Blakeney allegedly colluded with Marvis Fairley and Shane Hennen to fix CBA games.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The scheme proved lucrative,&rdquo; Metcalf said. &ldquo;Mr. Hennen, we allege, texted a confederate that the only things certain in life were &lsquo;death, taxes, and Chinese basketball.&#8217;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The betting scheme was then moved to the United States, and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >conspirators began recruiting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/old-dominion-mens-basketball-player-collapses-during-game-vs-georgia-southern-unable-to-return\/\" title=\"Old Dominion Men\u2019s ... Player Collapses During Game vs Georgia Southern Unable to Return\">college basketball players<\/a><\/a> to participate.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They picked these men because they were well connected in the world of college basketball,&rdquo; Metcalf said. &ldquo;They knew the players, many of them were players themselves, they were alumni, they were trainers, they were recruiters, they were networkers, they were people of influence, and because of that influence, they added gravitas and legitimacy to the scheme.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>NCAA President Charlie Baker was aware of the charges, and the organization had already investigated, or was investigating, almost all the teams named.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3453277\/rand-paul-introduces-collegiate-sports-integrity-act\/\">RAND PAUL INTRODUCES THE COLLEGIATE SPORTS INTEGRITY ACT IN SENATE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The pattern of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/over-two-dozen-charged-in-massive-scheme-to-rig-college-basketball-games\/\" title=\"Over two ... in &#039;... ...&#039; to rig ... ...\">college basketball game integrity conduct revealed<\/a> by law enforcement today is not entirely new information to the NCAA,&rdquo; Baker&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.org\/news\/2026\/1\/15\/media-center-ncaa-president-baker-issues-statement-regarding-sports-betting-indictments-in-college-athletics-calls-on-remaining-states-to-ban-risky-bets.aspx\">said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The college basketball betting scheme comes after the NCAA banned three prominent Division 1 basketball players for participating in &ldquo;sports-betting related game manipulation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>26 indicted in college basketball game-fixing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2538329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP23172446222335-e1764729741980.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32305,33310,71072,71073,32918],"class_list":["post-2538328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-college-basketball","tag-criminal-charges","tag-match-fixing","tag-ncaa-corruption","tag-sports-betting"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP23172446222335-e1764729741980.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2538328"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2538336,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538328\/revisions\/2538336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2538329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2538328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2538328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2538328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}