Federal prosecutors unsealed indictments on January 15, 2026, charging 20 people in a scheme to fix NCAA and Chinese professional basketball games from 2022 to 2025. Former Chicago Bulls guard Antonio Blakeney faces separate charges for recruiting players into the conspiracy. The operation involved 39 players across more than 17 Division I teams and millions in wagers on at least 29 games.
Federal indictments unsealed on January 15, 2026, in Philadelphia reveal a widespread point-shaving conspiracy targeting college basketball and professional games in China. Prosecutors charged 20 individuals with bribery, wire fraud, and conspiracy, alleging they bribed players to underperform from September 2022 to 2025. The scheme ensnared 39 players on over 17 NCAA Division I teams, with bettors wagering millions on at least 29 games. Payments to players ranged from $10,000 to $30,000 per game, and some bets at Philadelphia's Rivers Casino reached hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Central to the operation was Antonio Blakeney, a 29-year-old former Chicago Bulls guard who played college ball at LSU from 2015 to 2017. After going undrafted in 2017, Blakeney appeared in 76 NBA games, averaging 7.5 points. He later joined China's Jiangsu Dragons for the 2019-20 season, averaging 34.8 points. Prosecutors say Blakeney, the first player recruited, received a $200,000 cash payment in a Florida storage unit and then enlisted NCAA players. He was charged separately on October 17, 2024, in Pennsylvania's Eastern District with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Among the indicted players are active and former college athletes, including Kennesaw State's Simeon Cottle (20.2 points per game average), Eastern Michigan's Carlos Hart (13.1 ppg), Delaware State's Camian Shell (8.0 ppg), and Texas Southern's Oumar Koureissi (4.9 ppg). Specific incidents include former University at Buffalo player Shawn Fulcher, accused of rigging games against Western Michigan, Kent State, and Ohio in February-March 2024, receiving at least $54,000. Bradley Ezewiro, ex-St. Louis University player, allegedly fixed a February 20, 2024, game against Duquesne and attempted to recruit others.
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf described the plot as "an extensive international criminal conspiracy of NCAA players, alumni and professional bettors who fixed games across the country and poisoned the American spirit of competition for monetary gain." NCAA President Charlie Baker emphasized ongoing collaboration with law enforcement and called for eliminating collegiate prop bets to protect integrity. Universities like Buffalo and North Carolina A&T have issued statements affirming cooperation with investigators and denying institutional involvement.
The case echoes an October 2024 NBA scandal involving Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and organized crime ties, with bettor Shane Hennen charged in both.
