A basketball going through a hoop. — Unsplash – Markus Spiske
A basketball trainer admitted to helping orchestrate a sweeping point-shaving scheme that bribed dozens of NCAA players to manipulate games across the country.
Jalen Smith of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty in federal court to bribery in sporting contests, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and illegal possession of a firearm. The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced the plea in a news release on Monday, March 9.
Prosecutors said Smith, 30, acted as a “fixer” in a nationwide operation that targeted NCAA Division I men’s basketball players from at least September 2022 through February 2025. The scheme involved bribing athletes to underperform so their teams would fail to cover betting spreads while gamblers placed large wagers against them.
More than 39 players from at least 17 NCAA Division I teams manipulated or tried to alter the outcomes of more than 29 games during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, according to prosecutors.
“Smith had a leadership role in the scheme, particularly in recruiting, managing, and paying players for their roles in the scheme,” federal prosecutors said. “Smith and other fixers approached and communicated with the players, in person and through social media, text message communications, and cellular telephone calls, offering the players bribe payments, usually ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game.”
According to prosecutors, Smith texted a player at halftime of a tied game in March 2024 and urged him to play worse in the second half. The texts said that the game “need[ed] to be a blowout” and that the team needed to get “blow[n] out next half.”
After athletes agreed to underperform, gamblers placed wagers totaling millions of dollars through sportsbooks. When the wagers paid off, Smith and others traveled to college campuses to pay cash bribes to players who participated in the scheme.
In one instance, prosecutors said Smith delivered $32,000 to two Nicholls State players following a February 2024 game, The Athletic reported. The payout came after gamblers wagered more than $100,000 on the matchup.
The group often targeted athletes whose bribe payments could match or exceed their legitimate Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) earnings. NCAA officials have previously warned that players on mid-major teams with losing records are especially vulnerable to criminal gambling organizations.
Cedquavious “Dae Dae” Hunter, a former University of New Orleans guard, spoke about the desperation he felt when agreeing to point-shave. Shortly after the NCAA banned him in November 2025, Hunter was interviewed on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and said that he threw games because he needed money to support his newborn child.
Investigators said the college scheme was also run by some of the same men tied to a separate Department of Justice investigation into NBA gambling schemes and rigged poker games. That case led to charges involving Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier III and suspended Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups.
Smith also pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm despite being banned from owning one due to prior felony convictions. FBI agents discovered a loaded Khar Arms CT380 semi-automatic pistol while searching his home on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.
The wire fraud charges each carry a potential 20-year sentence, while the firearms charge carries a maximum of 15 years. The bribery charge carries a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison.
Anyone with information about the NCAA point-shaving scheme should call the FBI’s Philadelphia field office at 215-418-4000.