College Basketball Gambling Ring Involved Dozens of Players, 17 Schools, Prosecutors Say

^{Simeon Cottle is among the players named in a federal indictment involving an alleged college basketball gambling ring involving at least 17 teams. (Photo: John Bazemore / Associated Press)}

A federal indictment unsealed Thursday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleges that at least 39 players from 17 different Division I NCAA basketball teams were involved in fixing college basketball games over the past two seasons for a gambling ring.

The indictment names 26 defendants, including 20 basketball players. Four of those players have recently played for their current teams this season at the time the charges were filed.

Top Conference USA Player Among Those Named in Indictment

In total, athletes from 17 schools were accused of helping to manipulate game results to aid a gambling ring. The schools involved included the following:

• Abilene Christian
• Alabama State
• Buffalo
• Coppin State
• DePaul
• Eastern Michigan
• Fordham
• Kennesaw State
• La Salle
• New Orleans
• Nicholls State
• North Carolina A&T
• Northwestern State
• Robert Morris
• Saint Louis
• Southern Miss
• Tulane

Among the players named are Simeon Cottle, Carlos Hart, Oumar Koureissi, and Camian Shell. Cottle is the most notable player of the group, as he was the Conference USA preseason player of the year and is currently averaging 20.2 points per game to lead the Kennesaw State Owls. 

“Kennesaw State University is aware of the reports involving men’s basketball student-athlete Simeon Cottle and former student-athlete Demond Robinson,” the school said in a statement. “Cottle has been suspended indefinitely from all team activities. KSU has no further public comment at this time.”

According to prosecutors, five other defendants in the indictment were identified as “fixers” who would recruit players into the gambling ring. Those defendants allegedly offered bribes of up to $30,000 in order to get players to underperform during games. 

The indictment alleges that players were paid to help members of the betting ring win point-spread bets on both full-game and first-half lines. For instance, in February 2024, defendants Marves Fairley and Shane Hennen  allegedly bet about $424,000 on Kent State to cover a spread of 8.5 points in the first half against Buffalo. Kent State took a 29-point lead into halftime against Buffalo on that night.

“This is the corruption of college sports,” David Metcalf, US Attorney for Pennsylvania’s Eastern District, said. “There is a substantial interest, public interest, in the integrity of sports. A great value of American society is a free, fair, and level playing field.”

Metcalf: NCAA Case Fundamentally ‘Different Criminal Scheme’ Than NBA Ring

Hennen and Fairley were charged last year in the Eastern District of New York as part of a scheme to use injury information from NBA players to make winning bets on prop bets, particularly on under bets on individual performances. However, Metcalf says the two cases are very different.

“There are defendants in common, but fundamentally, this is a different criminal scheme,” Metcalf said on Thursday. “The individuals in that case were making wagers on insider information – for example, injuries – to make money based on insider information, right? But there is a really important difference between wagering on predicted outcomes, on insider information, and wagering on determined outcomes – outcomes that you control.”

Concerns over the perceived vulnerability of prop bets to manipulation has led many states to consider or implement bans on prop bets in college sports. Some officials, including Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, have gone further in calling for a ban on all individual prop bets, including those on professional sports.

Basketball has seen several betting scandals over the past two years at both the college and professional levels. In 2024, former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter received a lifetime ban from the NBA for betting on basketball and providing insider information to bettors. In September 2025, three current and former Fresno State basketball players received lifetime bans from the NCAA after participating in gambling activities.