On March 5, 2024, in Buffalo, Chicago and Fort Wayne, Indiana, men’s college basketball players on three different teams were preparing to do the exact same thing: play badly in their games on purpose to help bettors win, federal prosecutors say.
In a 70-page indictment unsealed Thursday, federal prosecutors allege that a gambling ring bribed 39 NCAA basketball players on 17 Division I basketball teams to fix dozens of games over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
While it’s unclear how much was bet overall, the indictment shows the gambling ring wagered at least $3.6 million on the first-half and full-game spreads of college games. The two games that saw the most money wagered were $458,000 on Towson to cover the first-half spread against North Carolina A&T on Feb. 29, 2024, and $424,000 on Kent State to cover the first-half spread against Buffalo on Feb. 27, 2024.
