a more far-reaching probe into the NCAA<\/a>. <\/p>\nMetcalf said the new investigation was distinct from that case, which is being prosecuted in New York. In that matter, Metcalf said, Rozier and others were accused of providing confidential information to bettors \u2014 such as a player\u2019s injury status \u2014 to help boost the odds of a wager succeeding.<\/p>\n
In the newest case, Metcalf said, players were directly participating in the conspiracy \u2014 and benefiting from it, even as they sought to help their teams lose.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a really important difference between wagering on predicted outcomes [based on] insider information, and wagering on determined outcomes \u2014 outcomes that you control,” Metcalf said. \u201cThe former is a crime against sports betting markets. The latter is a crime against the sport itself \u2026 and that\u2019s what makes it different and, in my opinion, worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
An American scheme in China<\/p>\n
In a unique twist, prosecutors said, the scheme targeting one of America\u2019s most popular sports was launched in China.<\/p>\n
According to the indictment, Hennen and another professional gambler, Marves Fairley, recruited Blakeney \u2014 then playing for the Jiangsu Dragons \u2014 to join their so-called point-shaving scheme in 2022. <\/p>\n
Blakeney at the time was a top scorer in the Chinese Basketball Association. And, according to the indictment, Hennen and Fairley offered him bribes in exchange for deliberately underperforming and hurting his team\u2019s chances of winning.<\/p>\n
After he agreed, prosecutors said, Hennen and Fairley placed large bets at the Rivers Casino sportsbook in Fishtown, known as \u201cBetRivers.\u201d In one instance, prosecutors said, the men wagered $198,300 on the Guangdong Southern Tigers to beat the Dragons in a March 6, 2023, game.<\/p>\n
Blakeney averaged 32 points a game that season, but scored just 11 in the contest, which the Dragons lost, 127-96.<\/p>\n
Hennen was apparently pleased with his new investment. Later that spring, the indictment said, he sent a text to another schemer offering reassurance about a game involving Blakeney.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing gu[a]rantee[d] in this world,\u201d Henner wrote, \u201dbut death taxes and Chinese basketball.\u201d <\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Rivers Casino declined to comment on the case.<\/p>\n
After the season, Fairley left $200,000 in cash in a Florida storage unit Blakeney controlled, the indictment said. In intercepted text messages, Hennen and Fairley also described \u201cgiving $20,000\u201d to other players recruited by Blakeney to fix matches during his absence.<\/p>\n
The Chinese betting ring then became a template, prosecutors alleged \u2014 one that the conspirators used to begin rigging games much closer to home.<\/p>\n
Targeting NCAA games<\/p>\n
In 2024, prosecutors said, Hennen and Fairley recruited college basketball trainers Jalen Smith and Roderick Winkler to help rig NCAA games. Prosecutors said the trainers\u2019 status in the basketball world gave them access to, and credibility with, NCAA athletes.<\/p>\n
The men then used that influence to recruit about 20 players from a variety of schools to participate in the point-shaving operation, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
Several players had ties to the Philadelphia region, including former Temple University forward Elijah Gray, who was approached while playing at Fordham; Micawber \u201cMac\u201d Etienne, who was approached at DePaul but later played for La Salle; and Delaware State University point guard Camian Shell, who is alleged to have thrown games while at North Carolina A&T State University. C.J. Hines, a current player on Temple\u2019s roster, was also charged with taking bribes in 2024, when he was playing at Alabama State, court documents show. A Temple spokesperson said Thursday that the university was \u201creviewing this new information\u201d and noted that Hines has not played for the Owls due to ongoing eligibility questions.<\/p>\n
The scheme worked much as in China, prosecutors contended: Hennen and Fairley would bribe players to throw games, then place bets on their opponents. <\/p>\n
But the gamblers took a less visible role this time, the indictment said, generally sending brief texts to a number of people who could place high-stakes bets on their behalf.<\/p>\n
\u201cQueens ny -1 first half and money line,\u201d Hennen texted a straw bettor, seeking to place a $20,000 bet that the Queens University Royals would cover the first-half spread by at least 1\u00bd points in a March 1, 2024, game against Kennesaw State.<\/p>\n
The men let Smith handle much of the dirty work, the indictment said. In one example, he texted with Kennesaw State players Simeon Cottle and Demond Robinson the day of a game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need both of y\u2019all on FaceTime with me twice today,\u201d he wrote. \u201cJust to make sure y\u2019all good and really locked in \u2026 [This] money guaranteed, ima be at the game with the money.\u201d<\/p>\n
In some cases, Smith is alleged to have flown to Philadelphia to pay players their bribes. In other instances, the indictment said, Smith was intensely involved with pressuring players to underperform even while games were progressing.<\/p>\n
In March 2024, for example, the indictment said, Smith texted DePaul\u2019s Etienne that his teammates who were playing well needed to \u201cchilllll [the f\u2014] out.\u201d<\/p>\n
In another episode, the indictment said, he wrote to to Alabama State players Shawn Fulcher and Corey Hines, saying: \u201cLose by 6 full game no excuses,\u201d then sent a photo of a large stack of cash.<\/p>\n
When the players complained that they were struggling to throw the game because their opponent \u2014 the University of Southern Mississippi \u2014 was \u201cso bad,\u201d Smith sent an all-caps response, the indictment said. <\/p>\n
\u201cLET [the Southern Mississippi players] LAY IT UP,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
Sports impacted by \u2018monetization\u2019<\/p>\n
While Hennen is accused of orchestrating many of his crimes in Philadelphia, the indictment painted a more limited picture of his role with local teams.<\/p>\n
In 2024, for example, Smith and Blakeney attempted to recruit players from La Salle to join the scheme for a game against St. Bonaventure, the indictment said. But prosecutors did not name any La Salle players as having done so, and they said all the bets Hennen and Fairley placed on the game were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for La Salle said Thursday that the university would cooperate with all investigations into the matter, and that \u201cneither the university, current student-athletes, or staff are subjects of the indictment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Metcalf said the \u201cmonetization\u201d of college sports in recent years \u2014 and the proliferation of legalized sports gambling across the country \u2014 \u201cfurthered the enterprise in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he said that although college athletes can now be legally paid for their name, image, and likeness, some of those who participated in this scheme were targeted because they did not feel they were making enough money in that new landscape.<\/p>\n
Metcalf said many Americans are drawn to sports because they offer a venue for teams and players to participate in honest competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis,\u201d Metcalf said, \u201ctotally flies in the face of all of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staff writer Isabella DiAmore contributed to this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than two dozen people participated in a multiyear scheme to fix basketball games in the NCAA and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[69,71,70,43932],"class_list":{"0":"post-88416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-philadelphia","9":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","10":"tag-philadelphia-news","11":"tag-sports-gambling-point-shaving-scheme-rivers-casino-philadelphia-scandal-federal-charges"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}