PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A man who helped fix college basketball games pleaded guilty in Philadelphia federal court on Monday.
Roderick Winkler, 32, helped lead a ring of schemers who recruited players, coaxed them into manipulating their teams’ performances, and placed large wagers on those games.
The scheme to fix Chinese professional basketball games and men’s Division I college games lasted from 2022 to 2025 and involved about 40 players on nearly 20 teams. About 30 NCAA games were fixed, and more than $3 million worth of fraudulent wagers were placed.
According to United States Attorney David Metcalf, Winkler would approach and communicate with players in person, through social media, text and phone calls, offering bribes of anywhere between $10,000 and $30,000 per game.
Metcalf said the fixers would typically target players who were underdogs and sought to have them fail to cover the spreads in the games. Many players accepted the offers and agreed to help fix specific games.
Winkler admitted to charges including bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in February and faces a maximum possible sentence of 45 years in prison.