Federal prosecutors have unveiled an alleged scheme to fix over two dozen men's college basketball games in recent years, including a game at La Salle University. According to investigators, former NBA player Antonio Blakeney and others attempted to fix 29 Division I basketball games during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons by bribing players to underperform in ways that ensured their teams failed to cover the point spread.
The scheme allegedly involved 39 players on 17 teams, but charges were only brought against 15 players. Blakeney and the fixers are accused of fixing Chinese Basketball Association games as well, with wagers totaling millions of dollars being made to capitalize on the scheme. They allegedly offered NCAA players bribes ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game to underperform.
To conceal their scheme, they used several sportsbooks, including FanDuel Sportsbook at Live! Casino in Philadelphia. The fixers targeted players for whom the bribes would "meaningfully supplement or exceed" their NIL opportunities and sought out players on teams that would be underdogs in the games they bet on.
A La Salle University game in February 2024 was included in the scheme, with Blakeney and others allegedly offering 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.
La Salle issued a statement saying that the university had just been made aware of the indictment and would cooperate with officials and investigations. David Metcalf, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said the alleged conspiracy "mushroomed" into an international scheme after Blakeney was recruited to play poorly in games for the Chinese Basketball Association's Jiangsu Dragons.
The investigation adds to a wave of cases uncovering alleged sports betting violations by both professional and college athletes. Other notable defendants include NBA player Terry Rozier, who was charged with faking an injury and giving gamblers insider information on his status; Chauncey Billups, the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, who was charged with allegedly helping to rig underground poker games backed by the Mafia.
The NCAA has opened sports betting integrity investigations into approximately 40 student-athletes from 20 schools over the past year. The organization will continue to aggressively pursue sports betting violations in college athletics using a layered integrity monitoring program.
The scheme allegedly involved 39 players on 17 teams, but charges were only brought against 15 players. Blakeney and the fixers are accused of fixing Chinese Basketball Association games as well, with wagers totaling millions of dollars being made to capitalize on the scheme. They allegedly offered NCAA players bribes ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game to underperform.
To conceal their scheme, they used several sportsbooks, including FanDuel Sportsbook at Live! Casino in Philadelphia. The fixers targeted players for whom the bribes would "meaningfully supplement or exceed" their NIL opportunities and sought out players on teams that would be underdogs in the games they bet on.
A La Salle University game in February 2024 was included in the scheme, with Blakeney and others allegedly offering 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.
La Salle issued a statement saying that the university had just been made aware of the indictment and would cooperate with officials and investigations. David Metcalf, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said the alleged conspiracy "mushroomed" into an international scheme after Blakeney was recruited to play poorly in games for the Chinese Basketball Association's Jiangsu Dragons.
The investigation adds to a wave of cases uncovering alleged sports betting violations by both professional and college athletes. Other notable defendants include NBA player Terry Rozier, who was charged with faking an injury and giving gamblers insider information on his status; Chauncey Billups, the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, who was charged with allegedly helping to rig underground poker games backed by the Mafia.
The NCAA has opened sports betting integrity investigations into approximately 40 student-athletes from 20 schools over the past year. The organization will continue to aggressively pursue sports betting violations in college athletics using a layered integrity monitoring program.
I mean, can you believe that these guys were trying to rig games and make millions of dollars by bribing players? It's like something out of a movie, but it's all too real. And the fact that they used sportsbooks like FanDuel to hide their scheme is just disgusting. I feel so bad for the players who got involved, they're already under enough pressure with school and games and stuff. $10,000 to $30,000 per game? That's crazy talk! What kind of priorities are these people thinking about?
just saw that some former NBA player got caught up in a massive college basketball fixing scheme 
He allegedly bribed players to tank games and made millions off it 
Can you imagine if this had happened in the pros? The whole thing is so cringeworthy 
And what's with the sportsbooks getting involved? FanDuel Sportsbook, like who else? 
This just another reason why college basketball is super suspect 
39 players on 17 teams? that's wild! 
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. they've already identified over 40 student-athletes from 20 schools who are under investigation for sports betting-related issues. that's a lot of people getting scrutiny 
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