‘Fixer’ in large point-shaving scheme that rigged school basketball video games pleads responsible

A North Carolina man pleaded responsible Monday to prices linked to his “leadership role” in an enormous point-shaving operation that rigged dozens of faculty basketball video games.

Jalen Smith, 30, of Charlotte, was the primary of 26 defendants to confess felony wrongdoing within the sprawling scheme that introduced a federal prosecution out of Philadelphia this 12 months.

At a listening to in Philadelphia earlier than U.S. District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro, Smith pleaded responsible to bribery, wire fraud and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Smith was a “fixer” who recruited gamers “to underperform and help ensure their team failed to cover the spread in games during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 NCAA men’s basketball seasons,” federal prosecutors mentioned in a press release.

Smith was essential within the operation, authorities mentioned.

“Smith had a leadership role in the scheme, particularly in recruiting, managing, and paying players for their roles,” prosecutors mentioned.

With gamers agreeing to take dives, Smith and his cohorts “helped to arrange for large wagers to be placed on those games, betting against the team whose player or players they had bribed to engage in this point-shaving scheme,” prosecutors mentioned.

The point-shaving operation concerned “more than 39 players on more than 17 different NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams who then fixed and attempted to fix more than 29 NCAA games,” in keeping with prosecutors.

The bribery cost carries a most sentence of 5 years behind bars, wire fraud tops out at 20 years, and the firearms violation may convey as much as 20 years.

Smith’s legal professional couldn’t instantly be reached for remark Monday afternoon.