Jalen Smith Pleads Guilty in College Basketball Point Shaving Case

Good to Know

• Jalen Smith became the first defendant to plead guilty in a large college basketball betting investigation.
• Prosecutors say fixers targeted players across more than 40 schools and manipulated dozens of games.
• Bribe payments to athletes often ranged from $10,000 to $30,000 per game.

Federal prosecutors continue to investigate a wide betting scheme tied to college basketball games and sportsbook wagers. Court filings now include a guilty plea from one participant who admitted helping recruit players to manipulate results. Investigators say the activity stretched across multiple seasons and involved dozens of athletes and teams.

Jalen Smith entered a guilty plea in federal court in Philadelphia. Officials from the U.S. Attorney Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania confirmed the plea earlier this week. Smith admitted guilt to charges tied to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bribery. Court records also show a guilty plea for illegal possession of a firearm.

Authorities say Smith used contacts as a basketball trainer and player developer to approach athletes. Investigators say he worked with others in a gambling group that operated during the 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 college basketball seasons. Prosecutors believe the group attempted to influence game outcomes connected to sportsbook point spread betting.

Conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries potential prison time of up to 20 years for each count. Bribery charges carry up to five years in federal prison, along with three years of supervised release and a possible $250,000 fine. Sentencing will occur at a later stage.

How the Scheme Targeted College Basketball Players

Court filings describe how fixers placed wagers on games where recruited athletes agreed to underperform. Millions of dollars in bets reportedly flowed through sportsbook markets tied to those matchups. Investigators say members of the group paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to players.

One example included payments that Smith personally delivered. Prosecutors say he delivered $32,000 in cash to players located in Louisiana while wagering large amounts on games connected to the scheme.

“In early March 2024, for example, Smith and other fixers recruited and offered a bribe to a player on an NCAA men’s basketball team, and the player agreed to underperform in an upcoming game,” federal prosecutors said.

“Around halftime of that game, when the score was tied, Smith texted the player, expressed his concern about the score, and urged the player to underperform in the second half, telling him that the game ‘need(ed) to be a blowout,’ that the player was ‘supposed to be … losing’ and was costing him money, and that the team needed to get ‘blow(n) out next half.’”

Investigators say recruiters often focused on athletes who had limited earning potential through name image likeness agreements. Cash offers could exceed typical NIL income for some players.

“Smith and other fixers specifically targeted college players for whom the bribe payments would meaningfully supplement, or exceed, the student-athletes legitimate opportunities for Name Image Likeness compensation,” federal prosecutors said.

Prosecutors say athletes on teams listed as betting underdogs often became targets. A team could lose against the spread while still competing in the game, which made suspicious results harder to detect in betting markets.

Investigation Links Scheme to Dozens of Teams and Players

According to the indictment released earlier in the year, Smith joined the fixer network after it began recruiting players connected to the Chinese Basketball Association during 2023. Former NBA player Antonio Blakeney reportedly participated in recruiting efforts tied to that earlier activity.

Investigators later say the network turned attention toward college basketball programs in the United States. Court records link the scheme to more than 40 schools and dozens of athletes.

Authorities say 26 people face charges connected to the case. Smith became the first defendant to enter a formal guilty plea.

Court filings list 39 players connected to more than 17 NCAA teams. Investigators say the scheme affected 29 games, with activity continuing as recently as January 2025.

Programs named in the indictment include Nicholls State, Tulane, Northwestern State, Saint Louis, LaSalle, Fordham, Buffalo, DePaul, Robert Morris, Southern Miss, North Carolina A&T, Kennesaw State, Coppin State, New Orleans, Abilene Christian, Eastern Michigan, and Alabama State.

Sports betting integrity monitoring has increased across professional and college leagues in recent years. Regulators and sportsbooks now track unusual betting activity more closely after several betting related incidents tied to athletes and games.

Federal prosecutors continue to pursue remaining defendants connected to the investigation.