Federal Prosecutors Uncover Alleged Scheme to Fix NCAA Basketball Games
A brazen scheme to rig college basketball games has come under scrutiny, with federal prosecutors in Philadelphia unveiling an alleged conspiracy involving former NBA player Antonio Blakeney and others. The alleged scheme, which spanned over a year, involved 15 players from 17 teams attempting to fix more than two dozen Division I men's basketball games during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
According to investigators, Blakeney and his cohorts offered NCAA players bribes ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game to underperform in ways that ensured their teams failed to cover the point spread. The fixers then allegedly placed substantial bets against those players' teams, generating millions of dollars in wagers.
One notable example involves a La Salle University game in February 2024, where Blakeney and others allegedly offered La Salle players bribes to underperform in the first half of a home game against St. Bonaventure University. The fixers placed bets totaling $247,000 on St. Bonaventure to cover the first-half spread, which ultimately failed.
"This alleged conspiracy is a betrayal of the trust and integrity that our student-athletes represent," said David Metcalf, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. "We will continue to aggressively pursue sports betting violations in college athletics using a layered integrity monitoring program."
The investigation has shed light on how fixers recruited players from various schools, including La Salle and Temple University, who were then manipulated into underperforming games. Former DePaul University player Micawber Etienne allegedly worked with fixers to recruit teammates to underperform during three DePaul games, while Elijah Gray, a former Fordham University player, allegedly communicated with fixers to manipulate the outcome of a matchup between Fordham and Duquesne University.
The defendants in Thursday's indictment face charges including bribery and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The investigation is part of a broader wave of cases uncovering alleged sports betting violations by both professional and college athletes, including NBA player Terry Rozier and Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase.
As the multibillion-dollar sports betting industry continues to grow, authorities are sounding the alarm about opportunists exploiting sportsbooks and the public in ways that evade detection. "We're not going to sit here on the sidelines while this regulatory landscape figures itself out," Metcalf said.
A brazen scheme to rig college basketball games has come under scrutiny, with federal prosecutors in Philadelphia unveiling an alleged conspiracy involving former NBA player Antonio Blakeney and others. The alleged scheme, which spanned over a year, involved 15 players from 17 teams attempting to fix more than two dozen Division I men's basketball games during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
According to investigators, Blakeney and his cohorts offered NCAA players bribes ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game to underperform in ways that ensured their teams failed to cover the point spread. The fixers then allegedly placed substantial bets against those players' teams, generating millions of dollars in wagers.
One notable example involves a La Salle University game in February 2024, where Blakeney and others allegedly offered La Salle players bribes to underperform in the first half of a home game against St. Bonaventure University. The fixers placed bets totaling $247,000 on St. Bonaventure to cover the first-half spread, which ultimately failed.
"This alleged conspiracy is a betrayal of the trust and integrity that our student-athletes represent," said David Metcalf, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. "We will continue to aggressively pursue sports betting violations in college athletics using a layered integrity monitoring program."
The investigation has shed light on how fixers recruited players from various schools, including La Salle and Temple University, who were then manipulated into underperforming games. Former DePaul University player Micawber Etienne allegedly worked with fixers to recruit teammates to underperform during three DePaul games, while Elijah Gray, a former Fordham University player, allegedly communicated with fixers to manipulate the outcome of a matchup between Fordham and Duquesne University.
The defendants in Thursday's indictment face charges including bribery and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The investigation is part of a broader wave of cases uncovering alleged sports betting violations by both professional and college athletes, including NBA player Terry Rozier and Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase.
As the multibillion-dollar sports betting industry continues to grow, authorities are sounding the alarm about opportunists exploiting sportsbooks and the public in ways that evade detection. "We're not going to sit here on the sidelines while this regulatory landscape figures itself out," Metcalf said.
They've got these players trying to fix games for thousands of dollars and making millions off it 
It's just so shady and disgusting at the same time 
The fact that they're recruiting people from all these different schools is wild 
And now there are charges being brought against them, which is awesome 
But we need to make sure that these sportsbooks are doing their job too, you know? They can't just sit around waiting for someone to get caught 
. It's like, what's the value of winning if you can just buy your way to success? 
And it's not just players, it's the whole system that's gotta be called out. I mean, how many times have we seen this happen in sports? It's a never-ending cycle of corruption and greed 
. They're already feeling the weight of expectations from their coaches, teammates, and fans. And then you add in this extra layer of stress - knowing that they've got someone out there paying them to lose? It's like, what kind of pressure is that? 
. We're living in a world where people will do whatever it takes to get ahead, even if it means hurting others or betraying their trust 
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OMG u gotta know bout dis new scandal!!! Apparently there's a scheme goin down in college hoops where some players are gettin paid 2 tank games 
like $10k to 30k per game!! Can u even? And it gets worse, these "fixers" are makin bets against these teams 2 make millions 
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and what's even crazier is that they placed bets on their own teams losing lol what a scam. I mean, I get why they did it but still its disgusting. And can we talk about how the fixers recruited these players from different schools? like Micawber Etienne working with fixers to recruit his teammates... that's some shady stuff