NCAA & CBA Players and Fixers Face Charges over Manipulated Games

Prosecutors have charged a number of athletes and match-fixers who rigged several games. The charges are related to a broader scheme that sought to exploit NCAA and Chinese Basketball Association games for illicit gain and involved dozens of players.

The Scheme Ran Deep

The notorious scheme involved multiple players who were in cahoots with match-fixers seeking to rig games in order to make advantaged sports bets and win money. The prosecution understood that the fixers reached out to potentially cooperative players, “recruiting” them into the scheme.

The players who cooperated with the fraudsters would play suboptimally on purpose, allowing the scheme to make money by betting against them. This, however, undermined the integrity of the sport and the sports betting ecosystem.

At its peak, the scheme involved dozens of people, many of whom were college basketball players, according to federal prosecutors. Participating players were reportedly offered a cut of the proceeds for their cooperation. Cooperating players allegedly received between $10,000 and $30,000 per manipulated game.

The initiators of the scheme were often people who were either associated with the sport or formerly associated with it. They included coaches and former players, reports say. Some players also reached out to their fellow athletes, recruiting even more people into the scheme.

Court data suggests that the fraudsters first fixed two Chinese Basketball Association games in 2023 before moving on to rigging NCAA games. Their most recent known activity was from a year ago.

Further data shows that 15 of the defendants played for Division I NCAA schools during the 2024-25 season. Additionally, 5 played in the NCAA in the 2023-24 season. A separate player participated in the Chinese Basketball Association in the 2022-23 season.

An International Criminal Conspiracy

Many of the people associated with the scheme were just charged with fraud, conspiracy, and bribery. Some of the named players included Simeon Cottle, Carlos Hart, Oumar Koureissi and Camian Shell, whose most recent games happened only a few days ago, the Associated Press reported.

While the charges are not related to the current basketball season, the case raises serious questions about the integrity of the sport and the fraud that is happening behind the scenes.  

US attorney David Metcalf commented on the matter, calling the current case an “international criminal conspiracy.” He was concerned about the widespread corruption in sports, which seems to involve players and staffers alike.

While fraud in professional sports is nothing new, the involvement of college athletes has raised serious concerns about the integrity of the sector. NCAA officials have long called for the end of player prop bets and recently took this a step further, asking for a complete halt on college sports betting until stricter national rules are in place.