Federal Indictment Alleges College and International Players Took Bribes to Manipulate Games

A federal indictment just pulled back the curtain on a years-long betting operation that prosecutors say quietly warped the integrity of college and international basketball.

Former college All-American Antonio Blakeney is among 17 players named in a sweeping point-shaving case tied to manipulated games in the NCAA and the Chinese Basketball Association. The indictment, unsealed Thursday in Philadelphia, outlines a scheme that allegedly ran from September 2022 through February 2025 and targeted sportsbooks and everyday bettors alike.

According to prosecutors, players accepted bribe payments to intentionally underperform, ensuring their teams failed to cover betting spreads. Fixers behind the operation then placed large wagers on those same games. “The sportsbooks would not have paid out those wagers had they known that the defendants fixed those games,” the indictment states.

Twenty people are named in total. Among them are players who allegedly agreed to shave points in exchange for cash, as well as organizers who coordinated bets. Prosecutors say bettors were kept completely in the dark. “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 that should have been decided fairly,” the indictment said.

Two players, Cedquavious Hunter and Dequavion Short of New Orleans, were previously sanctioned by the NCAA in November for related conduct. Prosecutors allege Marves Fairley and Shane Hennen recruited Blakeney, offering between $10,000 and $30,000 per game, sums they say exceeded typical NIL earnings. After profiting overseas, the group allegedly expanded into NCAA men’s basketball.

Blakeney is named but not charged. The indictment details 29 games prosecutors say were compromised, with some defendants facing charges in other jurisdictions as the case continues to unfold.