Gambler Gets 8 Months in Prison for Role in Baseball Betting Scandal

An Indiana man who was charged for obstructing an investigation in Alabama regarding a suspicious gambling activity involving a National Collegiate Athletic Association baseball game from 2023 was recently sentenced to prison.

The case in question involves Bert Eugene Neff, a man from Indianapolis, Indiana, described by the federal authorities as a seasoned gambler. As announced by ESPN, Neff was recently sentenced to eight months in prison, as well as three years of supervised release.

The sentencing comes after a guilty plea from March. At the time, Neff admitted to obstruction of justice charges related to an investigation into suspicious bets on an Alabama-LSU baseball game.

Although the University of Cincinnati baseball program was cleared of the betting scandal in September last year, the suspicious betting activities led to the dismissal of a number of baseball staff. Notably, two UC baseball staff members were dismissed. Those were Andy Nagel and Kyle Sprague who were relieved from their duties on May 17, 2023. Alabama’s head baseball coach, Brad Bohannon, was also fired last spring amid the betting integrity scandal.

Edward Canter, US attorney, who was recently quoted by ESPN, acknowledged that Neff was a “professional gambler.” Speaking about Neff, Canter added: “Faced with a federal grand jury investigation, he worked to game the system. The defendant destroyed evidence, tampered with witnesses, and provided false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

According to the US attorney, the unlawful actions by Neff weren’t a one-time thing. Canter said that the professional gambler obstructed the investigation on dozens of occasions.

Tampering with Evidence, Witnesses

Earlier this year, the US Attorney’s Office Northern District of Alabama confirmed that Neff was charged with obstructing a federal investigation. The 49-year-old man’s “obstruction scheme” started in May 2023 and continued through January this year.

At that time, Neff “destroyed his cell phone, encouraged witnesses to destroy their cell phones and delete encrypted messaging applications, and provided false statements to federal investigators,” as explained by the US Attorney’s Office.

Obstruction of justice is a crime that faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, together with three years of supervised release. In addition, the crime is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000.