Twenty men, four of whom are playing college basketball this season, have been charged in an extensive point-shaving scheme in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, according to an indictment unsealed on Thursday morning.
The indictment stated that at least 39 college players on more than 17 NCAA Division I teams took part in fixing at least 29 games. Fifteen defendants played in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, including Cedquavious Hunter, Dyquavian Short and Jamond Vincent, all from the University of New Orleans.
Four current players included in the indictment are Kennesaw State’s Simeon Cottle — who is leading Conference USA in scoring (20.2 points per game) and free-throw percentage (87.6) and was its Preseason Player of the Year — along with Eastern Michigan’s Carlos Hart, Delaware State’s Camian Shell and Texas Southern’s Oumar Koureissi.
Two more defendants, Shane Hennen and Marves Fairley, have also been charged in a federal indictment in the Eastern District of New York that focused on NBA games.
Thursday’s unsealed indictment alleges that the gambling activity started in September 2022 and was at first focused on fixing the results in the Chinese Basketball Association. The accused later moved on to college games, offering bribes to players ranging from $10,000 to $30,000.
“In placing these wagers on games they had fixed, the defendants defrauded sportsbooks, as well as individual sports bettors, who were all unaware that the defendants had corruptly manipulated the outcome of these games that should have been decided fairly, based on genuine competition and the best efforts of the players,” the indictment said.
During a Thursday press conference, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania expounded on the scope of the scandal.
“How the scheme worked is Mr. Fairley, Mr. Hennen and these other leaders would bribe NCAA basketball players to the tune of $10,000 to $30,000 per game,” David Metcalf, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said. ”The player would then agree to deliberately underperform the game.
“This was a massive scheme. It enveloped the world of college basketball. It involved conferences such as the Big East, Atlantic 10, the Sun Belt, the Horizon League and involved games against nationally ranked programs. It involved games in the playoffs and conference championships. It was a significant corruption of the integrity of sports.”
Investigators discovered that Vincent, Hunter and Short colluded so New Orleans would lose by bigger scores than expected so gamblers could win bets. Text messages between Vincent and unnamed third parties discussed “throwing” games, including against McNeese State on Dec. 28, 2024. New Orleans lost by 25 points, one more than the spread.
A New Orleans player, according to a report by Sports Illustrated, overheard Short, during a timeout, telling another player not to score.
Two Mississippi Valley State players, Donovan Sanders and Alvin Stredic, admitted to being offered money to influence the outcome of an early January game in 2025 but say they didn’t accept it. Still, betting companies were suspicious when they noticed wagers three times higher than normal after that game, which led to an NCAA review.
A power conference player, Arizona State’s BJ Freeman, allegedly shared his fantasy performance stats with a former teammate and his girlfriend, which allowed them to bet on his daily fantasy results. Yahoo Sports has reported that Freeman later lied to investigators about having a daily fantasy account.
Games involving Butler, Buffalo, DePaul, Duquesne, East Carolina, Fordham, Georgetown, Kent State, La Salle, McNeese State, Nicholls State, Ohio, Saint Louis, St, John’s, Tulane and Western Michigan were also allegedly involved.
In recent years, the power of the NCAA has been diminished by the courts. But as much as it can, the NCAA is trying to curb potential gambling scandals.
One such effort is calling for a ban on so-called individual prop bets, which allow gamblers to wager on a player’s performance. Among the negative repercussions of this practice is the fact players are getting criticized and threatened on social media if their performances cost bettors money.
This week, NCAA president Charlie Baker sent a letter to gambling commissions, urging them to ban prop betting.
“One issue that deeply troubles the NCAA is betting markets centering around many aspects of a student-athlete’s individual athletic performance, otherwise known as player prop bets,” Baker wrote. “While these types of bets are prohibited in some states with legalized sports betting, they are still offered in a majority of jurisdictions.
“The NCAA national office regularly hears concerns from schools and student-athletes across the country on the impacts of sports betting. Those schools and student-athletes cite issues surrounding player prop bets, including instances of harassment, competition integrity and other well-being concerns.”
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