17 COLLEGE BASKETBALL PLAYERS INDICTED IN POINT-SHAVING SCHEME. (PHOTO).

17 college basketball players indicted in point-shaving scheme

Former college All-American Antonio Blakeney is among 17 basketball players charged in a point-shaving scheme aimed at rigging games in the NCAA and the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), according to an indictment unsealed Thursday in Philadelphia. The alleged scheme, which ran from September 2022 to February 2025, is said to have defrauded sportsbooks and individual bettors by manipulating game outcomes.

The indictment names a total of 20 defendants, including players who agreed to underperform in exchange for bribes. So-called fixers then placed large bets on the manipulated games. “In placing these wagers on games they had fixed, the defendants defrauded sportsbooks, as well as individual sports bettors, who were all unaware that the defendants had corruptly manipulated the outcome of these games,” the indictment states.

Two of the players, Cedquavious Hunter and Dequavion Short of New Orleans, were previously sanctioned by the NCAA in November for allegedly participating in game-fixing. Blakeney was reportedly recruited by defendants Marves Fairley and Shane Hennen, who offered bribes for him to underperform. Blakeney allegedly recruited additional teammates to join the scheme.

After profiting from fixed CBA games, the group turned to NCAA men’s basketball, allegedly targeting players to ensure their teams failed to cover point spreads in the first half or full games. Fixers would then place bets against the affected teams through sportsbooks. Bribe payments ranged from $10,000 to $30,000 per game, a sum prosecutors said exceeded most players’ legitimate earning potential from name, image, and likeness opportunities. The scheme also focused on underdog teams, aiming to have bribed players fail to cover the betting spreads.