Twenty current and former college basketball players were charged Thursday by federal prosecutors and face accusations of accepting bribes in exchange for manipulating their teams’ games.
According to an indictment brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the gambling scheme involved more than 39 players on more than 17 Division I teams and more than 29 games over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. Four of the players charged have played in college basketball games this season, including the leading scorer of Conference USA, Simeon Cottle of Kennesaw State.
Two players, Elijah Gray and Corey “CJ” Hines, were expected to play this season at Wisconsin and Temple, respectively. Gray was dismissed by Wisconsin in late October, while Hines is still listed on Temple’s roster but has not played a game for the Owls.
All 20 players were charged with bribery in sporting contests, for games that took place between Feb. 17, 2024 and Jan. 11, 2025. According to federal prosecutors, a group of bettors enticed players with payments of anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 for their willingness to help the syndicate win bets on first-half and full-game spreads. Another former college basketball and NBA player, Antonio Blakeney, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and accused of fixing games in the Chinese Basketball Association.
Many of the players listed were part of the COVID-19 era of college sports, which granted them an extra year of eligibility. As a result, some of the players listed below played five seasons of college basketball, rather than the traditional four.
Below are the 20 players listed in the federal indictment, along with information about their college basketball careers.
Active college basketball playersSimeon Cottle
Most recent school: Kennesaw State
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: Kennesaw State
The 2026 CUSA Preseason Player of the Year, Cottle is a 6-foot-2 point guard from College Park, Ga., who has played his entire four-year career at Kennesaw State — a rarity in the transfer portal era. Cottle is averaging 20.2 points per game.
He played as recently as Wednesday in Kennesaw State’s 89-86 win over FIU, scoring 21 points in 39 minutes, and was named the CUSA Player of the Week on Monday. Kennesaw State suspended Cottle on Thursday.
🏀 PLAYER OF THE WEEK 🏀
🏅2⃣ Simeon Cottle, @KSUOWLSMBB #NoLimitsOnUs | https://t.co/vpU1mkGJWC pic.twitter.com/cBIiDW8BRv
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) January 12, 2026
Carlos Hart
Most recent school: Eastern Michigan
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: New Orleans
A redshirt senior from Miami, Hart is currently playing at Eastern Michigan, his fifth school in five years, with previous stops at Valdosta State, New Orleans, South Georgia State and Benedict College in Columbia, S.C.. He was an all-region performer last season at Valdosta State, a Division-II school in Georgia. At Eastern Michigan this season, he’s averaging 13.1 points and 5.3 rebounds. He had 9 points and 4 rebounds in a win over Northern Illinois on Tuesday.
Eastern Michigan suspended Hart on Thursday following the indictment, pending the outcome of the case.
Corey “CJ” Hines
Most recent school: Temple
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: Alabama State
An Atlanta native, Hines played two years at Alabama State, averaging 14.1 points and 3.0 rebounds last season for the Hornets. In May, Temple announced it had signed Hines, who would have one year of eligibility remaining. In November, prior to Temple’s first game, the school announced it had heard from the NCAA that there were “potential eligibility concerns involving Hines;” and that Hines would sit out while those concerns were investigated. As of mid-day Thursday, Hines was still listed on Temple’s roster.
Before Alabama State, Hines played two years at Faulkner University, an NAIA school in Montgomery, Ala.
Oumar Koureissi
Most recent school: Texas Southern
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: Nicholls State
Koureissi was averaging 4.9 points and 3.0 rebounds for Texas Southern. He last played in the team’s 74-66 loss to Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday. The school said Thursday he has been removed from the team.
Camian Shell
Most recent school: Delaware State
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: North Carolina A&T
Shell is a graduate student at Delaware State this season. He transferred to DSU after two seasons at North Carolina A&T, where he was voted an all-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference player last season. He began his career at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.
Shell is averaging 9.3 points this season for the Hornets, but did not play in Monday’s 58-54 loss to Howard.
Former college basketball players
Isaiah Adams was one of two former Buffalo players charged Thursday. (Rey Del Rio / Getty Images)
Isaiah Adams
Most recent school: Toledo
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: Buffalo
A forward from Jacksonville, Fla., Adams played five college seasons — two for UCF, two for Buffalo and one for Toledo. During the 2023-24 season at Buffalo, he averaged 12.8 points and led the Bulls with a team-high 95 assists. He finished his college career at Toledo last season, averaging 8.0 points and 3.4 assists.
Arlando “Mo” Arnold
Most recent school: Southern Miss
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: Southern Miss
A guard from Picayune, Miss., Arnold played three seasons at Southern Miss, most recently in 2023-24, after transferring from Jacksonville. He is currently playing professionally in Albania. In his final season at Southern Miss, he started 27 of 32 games and averaged 6.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
Kevin Cross
Most recent school: Tulane
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: Tulane
Cross, a native of Little Rock, Ark., played four seasons for the Green Wave after transferring from Nebraska following the 2019-20 season. He led Tulane in scoring during the 2023-24 season, his final year of college basketball, averaging 17.5 points and 7.3 rebounds. In 2024-25, Cross played for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the G League team affiliated with the Houston Rockets; he has most recently been playing professionally in China.
Micawber “Mac” Etienne
Most recent school: La Salle
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: DePaul
A four-star prospect who spent three years at UCLA, Etienne spent the 2023-24 season at DePaul. He finished his college career last year at La Salle, starting the second half of the season and averaging 5.3 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Explorers.
Bradley Ezewiro
Most recent school: UAB
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: Saint Louis
Ezewiro, a forward, played at LSU, Georgetown, Saint Louis and UAB over a four-year span from 2021 to 2025. In his final season at UAB, he appeared in all 37 games, averaging 7.2 points and 4.5 rebounds.
Shawn Fulcher
Most recent school: Alabama State
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: Alabama State and Buffalo
Fulcher, a 6-foot guard from Brooklyn, was accused of participating in point shaving at both Buffalo and Alabama State. He most recently played at Alabama State, averaging 4.2 points for the Hornets in 2024-25. He played at Buffalo during the 2023-24 season, and prior to that, one season at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, where he was a NJCAA third-team All-American.
Elijah Gray
Most recent school: Wisconsin
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: Fordham
A forward from Charlotte, N.C., Gray played two seasons at Fordham from 2022 to 2024, averaging 5.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 2023-24, his last season with the Rams. He played last season at Temple, averaging 9.0 points and 3.8 rebounds. In July, Wisconsin announced Gray had joined the Badgers, but on Oct. 28, the school dismissed him from the team, “related to events preceding his enrollment.” He never played a game for the Badgers.
Markeese Hastings was Robert Morris’ leading scorer in 2023-24. (John Fisher / Getty Images)
Markeese Hastings
Most recent school: Robert Morris
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: Robert Morris
A 6-7 forward from Grand Rapids, Mich., Hastings transferred to Robert Morris as a graduate student in April 2023 after two seasons at Western Michigan; before that, he played two seasons at Butler. In 2023-24, Hastings started all 31 games for Robert Morris, averaging 14.4 points and 7.8 rebounds.
Cedquavious “Dae Dae” Hunter
Most recent school: New Orleans
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: New Orleans
Hunter transferred from Pearl River Community College in Poplarville, Miss., and played only one season at New Orleans in 2024-25, where he averaged 8.2 points over 21 games. In mid-November, Hunter appeared on “Good Morning America” and admitted to fixing games, saying he was “money hungry” for “fast cash.” Hunter was one of six former players deemed permanently ineligible by the NCAA on Nov. 7 for manipulating game performance and outcomes.
Da’Sean Nelson
Most recent school: Eastern Michigan
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: DePaul and Eastern Michigan
Nelson, a forward from Toledo, Ohio, was one of three former EMU players declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA in October for refusing to cooperate with the NCAA’s investigation. Accused of helping fix outcomes at both DePaul and Eastern Michigan, he played the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons at DePaul and one year at EMU. He started his college career at Kilgore, a community college in Texas, and played two seasons there.
Demond Robinson
Most recent school: Kennesaw State
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: Kennesaw State
A senior in 2023-24, Robinson was the third-leading scorer for the Owls, averaging 12.6 points per game. Originally from Montgomery, Ala., he played three seasons at Kennesaw State after two seasons at Murray State.
Dyquavion “Jah” Short
Most recent school: New Orleans
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: New Orleans
Short was one of the other five players, along with Hunter, permanently banned by the NCAA in early November. As a sophomore at New Orleans in 2024-25, Short played in 21 games, averaging 9.2 points and 4.5 rebounds. Midway through the season, New Orleans suspended Short, Hunter and Jamond Vincent as it investigated the gambling and point-shaving allegations.
Airion Simmons
Most recent school: Abilene Christian
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: Abilene Christian
A forward from Little Rock, Ark., Simmons played five seasons — from 2019 to 2024 — at Abilene Christian in Texas. In his final year of college basketball, Simmons averaged 12.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
Diante Smith
Most recent school: UT Arlington
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: Nicholls State
Smith, a four-star recruit from Walton Beach, Fla., played at four colleges, most recently last season at UT Arlington, averaging 8.2 points for the Mavericks. He spent the 2023-24 season at Nicholls, earning All-Southland honors during his only season with the Colonels. He previously played at South Alabama for two seasons, including a redshirt year in 2022-23, and at TCU for two seasons.
Jalen Terry
Most recent school: Eastern Michigan
School(s) where player was accused of manipulating games: DePaul and Eastern Michigan
Like Nelson, Terry, a guard from Flint, Mich., played last season at Eastern Michigan, averaging 16.6 points and 4.8 rebounds. Before transferring to EMU, he played three seasons at DePaul and one at Oregon. In October, the NCAA declared Terry permanently banned.