Former players are among those charged with rigging basketball games in the United States and China.
Published January 15, 2026
Federal prosecutors in the United States have charged 20 people, including 15 former college basketball players, in what they called a gambling scheme to rig games between the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
Fifteen of the defendants played basketball at NCAA Division I schools through the 2024-2025 season.
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The remaining five defendants were described by authorities as fixers.
They include two men who prosecutors said Thursday were engaged in the training and development of basketball players. Another was a trainer and former coach, one was a former NCAA player, and two were described as gamblers, influencers, and sports handicappers.
Some individuals were previously indicted in NBA-related gambling investigations.
Charges including bribery in sports contests and conspiracy to commit wire fraud were unsealed by federal prosecutors in Philadelphia. They accuse the defendants of conspiring to modify the game from approximately September 2022 to approximately February 2025.
During the 2022-2023 CBA season, the individuals attempted to “fix” men’s basketball games by “point-shaving” them, prosecutors alleged in documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Point shaving is a type of cheating in which individuals attempt to manipulate the margin of victory.
Some of those charged allegedly tried to target games at Nicholls State University, Tulane University, Northwestern State University, La Salle University, DePaul University, Robert Morris University, University of Southern Mississippi, and North Carolina A&T State University.
Athletes from Kennesaw State University, Coppin State University, University of New Orleans, Abilene Christian University, Eastern Michigan University and Alabama State University were also targeted as part of the scheme, according to the indictment.
In a 70-page indictment, authorities said the fixers recruited college basketball players with “bribes” typically ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game.
The charges follow a series of NCAA investigations that led to lifetime suspensions for at least 10 players this year for making bets, sometimes involving their teams or their own performance. The NCAA also announced that at least 30 players are under investigation for gambling allegations.
More than 30 people were also charged in a major federal crackdown on illegal gambling operations related to professional basketball last year.
