Sports
Records: Gambling group targeted college hoops
Sportsbooks flagged dozens of suspicious bets made by gamblers repeatedly wagering against the same small-conference teams in at least 11 men’s college basketball games over six weeks last season, documents obtained by ESPN show.
As the NCAA and federal authorities investigate alleged point-shaving in college basketball, the documents reveal new details about the behavior of an alleged gambling syndicate and the games that suspected members targeted between Dec. 1, 2024, and mid-January 2025. ESPN obtained the documents in a public records request.
At least nine sportsbooks in 13 states and one Canadian province detected similar unusual betting activity, according to an email sent by IC360, a firm that monitors the betting market for abnormalities. The gamblers kept betting big against the same teams and winning.
In some cases, customers opened new sportsbook accounts or reemerged after weeks of inactivity to place larger-than-normal or multiple consecutive wagers on the first-half spreads of games, the records show.
Sportsbooks reported seeing similar betting activity on first-half spreads in the 2023-24 college basketball season and believed these bets were connected to the same gambling syndicate, according to the records and a source with direct knowledge.
One sportsbook wrote in the documents that several bettors had potential links to the syndicate and referenced Marves Fairley, a Mississippi man who sells betting picks online, as “the main syndicate suspect.” When reached by ESPN, Fairley denied any involvement.
Multiple sources familiar with the federal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania told ESPN that the FBI has been interviewing college athletes and believe indictments are forthcoming. The sources said they have seen evidence of plots to fix college basketball games.
A spokesperson for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania declined comment.
It is not clear if the syndicate is behind all the suspicious bets flagged in the documents, but the games mentioned involve five of the six schools where the NCAA says 13 former players are under investigation for participating in gambling schemes: Eastern Michigan, Temple, New Orleans, North Carolina A&T and Mississippi Valley State.
The first alert issued in this period, however, named a program that the NCAA has not mentioned — Stony Brook. On Dec. 1, 2024, IC360 received a report from a sportsbook about unusual betting interest on Norfolk State to cover the first-half spread against Stony Brook, the documents show.
A betting account that had been “relatively dormant” placed nine $300 bets on Norfolk State to cover the first-half spread, one sportsbook said. At another sportsbook, customers opened new betting accounts to make their first wagers for “excessive amounts” on Norfolk State, according to the documents. Additionally, betting accounts that the sportsbook believed were linked to each other continued to bet on Norfolk State, even after the line had moved to a less advantageous number. The sportsbook halted wagering on the game, the records show. Norfolk State led 34-27 at halftime, covering the spread.
A spokesperson for Stony Brook declined comment. The NCAA is aware of the suspicious betting against Stony Brook, according to a source with direct knowledge.
Three weeks after the Norfolk State-Stony Brook game, a group of bettors arrived at Harrah’s Gulf Coast casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Dec. 21, 2024, with tens of thousands of dollars. In a span of 45 minutes, the bettors placed a series of large bets on two games: $2,500 and $1,700 on Tulsa to cover the 26-point spread against Mississippi Valley State, according to the records. Some of the bettors attempted to wager $20,000 on Tulsa but were denied. They also bet $4,000, $3,500 and $2,200 on Wright State to cover the spread in the first half against Eastern Michigan, the records show. All the bets were easy winners.
“At this time, there is belief of a potential tie between these bettors, and bettors who placed suspicious wagers on First Half markets in flagged games last season,” an incident report from IC360 the next day read.
One customer who bet on Wright State had also wagered on a Temple game the previous season that was flagged for suspicious betting, according to the documents. ESPN previously reported that a former Temple player is under federal investigation for allegedly betting on his own games and manipulating his performance.
After an internal investigation, Caesars Entertainment, the parent company of Harrah’s Gulf Coast, found that several of the bettors knew each other or suspected members of the syndicate, according to the records. Two of them worked at the same company. Another would be arrested two days later in Mobile, Alabama, on drug and money-laundering charges. Federal authorities described him in court records as a “prolific and successful” interstate drug trafficker who had gambled more than $10 million over four years in casinos in Mississippi and Nevada. He pleaded guilty and is currently in prison.
A Caesars representative also wrote in a report that Fairley, whom the sportsbook called “the main syndicate suspect,” had previously placed suspicious wagers at Harrah’s Gulf Coast and had been banned from betting companywide.
Fairley, who has not been charged with a crime, denied any involvement in point-shaving schemes when reached by phone Wednesday. He denied betting on the college games in question. Asked if he was in a gambling syndicate, he said, “I sell picks.” He said he has not spoken to federal authorities and only vaguely knew of the investigation through one of his attorneys.
“Once this thing comes out and we can talk, man, and get all this behind us, whatever is going on, whatever the suspicion may be, just try to figure it out,” Fairley told ESPN.
Fairley told ESPN that he knows Shane Hennen, one of the co-conspirators in the federal gambling case of former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, who has admitted in court to manipulating his performances in two games for betting purposes. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York allege that Hennen received inside information about Porter, distributed the tips to other gamblers and placed bets through proxies.
Hennen was involved in “illicit financial transactions and fraudulent sports wagers totaling millions of dollars” using “a network of proxies and straw bettors located across the country,” a prosecutor wrote in a court filing in January. He was arrested that month while attempting to board an international flight and is currently negotiating a plea, court filings show.
Hennen’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment from ESPN. A spokesperson for the Eastern District of New York declined comment.
Both Hennen and Fairley have extensive criminal records. In 2016, Fairley told a Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agent that he “liked to gamble and obtained the largest portion of his money and assets from his role as a Bookie,” according to a court record.
ESPN previously reported that some of the same gambling accounts that bet on Porter also wagered on prop bets for veteran NBA guard Terry Rozier and against North Carolina A&T, Mississippi Valley State and Eastern Michigan. Fairley denied betting on either Porter or Rozier in the games in question.
In June, ESPN reported that the U.S. Attorney’s Office from the Porter case is investigating gambling allegations against NBA free agent Malik Beasley. Attorneys for Beasley and Rozier have said their clients are not targets of the federal investigation.
In January, the suspicious wagering continued, this time against North Carolina A&T, the records show. In Mississippi, a BetMGM customer placed two big wagers on Elon to cover the spread in the first half of a Jan. 2 game against North Carolina A&T: a $1,200 bet on Elon to cover the 3.5-point first-half spread and a $5,000 two-leg parlay on Elon -3.5 in the first half and Tennessee State -2.5. The bettor cashed out the parlay at 9:25 p.m. ET for $5,300 after Elon covered the first-half spread while Tennessee State was trailing, according to the records. The user had only one previous wager close to that size, BetMGM noted.
Gamblers also targeted Eastern Michigan, beginning with the Wright State game in December. On Jan. 7, 2025, a bettor tried to place a $10,000 wager on Toledo to cover the first-half spread against Eastern Michigan at the Fitz Casino and Hotel in northern Mississippi, according to the documents. The book allowed him to wager only $5,000, which paid out $9,348. He then went to the nearby Gold Strike Casino to make a $9,000 bet against Eastern Michigan, records show.
On the other side of the state, at the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, two customers wagered $12,000 against Eastern Michigan on the first-half spread and a third put down $10,000, according to the documents. Toledo finished the first half up 46-33, covering the spread.
IC360 sent out a third alert involving an Eastern Michigan game on Jan. 14. Bettors again wagered against Eastern Michigan covering the first-half spread against Central Michigan, according to a copy of the alert obtained by ESPN. Central Michigan finished the first half up 39-33.
The records show gamblers also bet against New Orleans in four games: McNeese State on Dec. 28, Vanderbilt on Dec. 30, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Jan. 6 and Southeastern Louisiana on Jan. 11. Four New Orleans players were suspended from the team in late January, reportedly for alleged gambling violations.
In Mississippi, a BetMGM customer placed three wagers totaling $2,750 on McNeese State to cover the spread against New Orleans, according to the records. Previously, the patron had very few wagers on college basketball and was observed significantly raising his bet amount multiple times on McNeese State to cover, wagering $250 then $1,000 and $1,500, a BetMGM representative wrote.
“In all cases we have seen betting either from individuals that placed bets in matches already raised, or a similar pattern from new customers in the same geographical area — mostly in retail sportsbooks,” FanDuel wrote, noting similar betting against Mississippi Valley State in a game against Alabama A&M.
With the college basketball season just weeks away, the NCAA called on sportsbooks and regulators to help prevent more cases from arising. Tim Buckley, NCAA senior vice president for external affairs, said in a statement to ESPN that the NCAA hopes more states will outlaw prop bets and shut down black-market sites.
“Protecting the integrity of the game and preventing student-athletes from making bad decisions is a massive undertaking and requires athlete education, collaboration between sportsbooks, regulators and sports leagues,” he said.
An IC360 spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN that the ability to spot suspicious activity is a benefit of a maturing regulated betting market.
“Although the underlying suspicious activity is, of course, concerning, we are proud to be a part of a group of invested stakeholders diligently collaborating to combat bad actors in sport,” the spokesperson said, adding, “We’re optimistic these efforts will yield positive results as we approach college basketball season.”
The 2025-26 college basketball season tips off Nov. 3.
ESPN researcher John Mastroberardino and reporter Shwetha Surendran contributed to this report.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers are keeping Matt LaFleur as head coach, sources told ESPN on Saturday.
He has signed a multiyear contract extension that a source said is “not a prove-it deal but a real commitment.”
The two sides met early in the week to discuss the future direction of the organization. They were joined by general manager Brian Gutekunst and vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball, and the first order of business was to make sure they had the right threesome in place.
Once they all agreed to move forward, LaFleur’s contract was the first order of business. It didn’t take long, and the deal was agreed to on Friday evening and signed on Saturday. Deals for Gutekunst and Ball are also in the works, sources said.
It was the first major decision by new team president Ed Policy, who took over in July for Mark Murphy. It was Murphy who hired LaFleur in 2019 to replace Super Bowl-winning coach Mike McCarthy.
The Packers are keeping their organizational structure in place even with the new extensions, sources said, as Gutekunst and LaFleur will continue to report to Policy.
The Packers lost in the wild-card round of the playoffs for the second straight season, but this time it was in a devastating fashion. Not only did they blow an 18-point halftime lead and give up 25 points in the fourth quarter, but they did it against the rival Chicago Bears.
LaFleur and Policy spoke briefly on the plane ride home from Chicago after the loss and then again after they returned to Green Bay to discuss the coach’s future.
LaFleur had one year left on the contract extension he signed in 2022. He would not say whether he would be willing to coach the 2026 season without a contract extension, but he reiterated that he would prefer to remain as the Packers’ coach even though he would likely be a top candidate for other NFL head coaching jobs.
“This is one-of-one,” LaFleur said Sunday when he met reporters the day after the season ended. “I love this place. I love the people. … I love our players, the locker room, everybody in our organization. I mean, this is a unique place. The community has been outstanding.
“I’ve lived in other places, so I think this is a unique place, and it’s a special place. My kids love it here; my family loves it here.”
Policy said last summer that he would prefer not to have a coach or general manager work into the final year of their contract, but at that time also said he was not ready to offer any extensions.
“I’m generally opposed — I’d never say never — [but] I’m generally opposed to a coach or GM going into the last year of their contract,” Policy said last June, shortly before he officially took over as president. “That creates a lot of issues. I think normally you have a pretty good idea of where that relationship is going when you have two years left — not always, but normally.
“So I think generally speaking I would avoid lame-duck status. It’s oftentimes difficult on everybody involved. But there are certain situations that probably call for it, so I would not say never.”
That ramped up the pressure on the 2025 season, which ended with five straight losses.
LaFleur has a 76-40-1 regular-season record as the Packers’ coach, the fourth-highest winning percentage (.654) among all active NFL head coaches, and his 76 wins tied for second most in NFL history by a coach in their first seven seasons.
LaFleur received a strong vote of confidence from quarterback Jordan Love after Saturday’s loss.
“I definitely think Matt should be the head coach,” Love said. “I’ve got a lot of love for Matt, and I think he does a good job. And that’s it.”
The Packers have made the playoffs in all but one of LaFleur’s seven seasons. However, after posting three straight 13-win seasons and going to two NFC Championship Games, LaFleur is 37-30-1 over the past four seasons with only one playoff win — a wild-card game in the 2023 season.
LaFleur was hired in 2019 in part to get Aaron Rodgers back to an MVP level, and that’s exactly what happened. Rodgers won the award twice (2020 and 2021) under LaFleur. He also was charged with developing Love, who three seasons into his starting career appears to be Green Bay’s franchise quarterback.
LaFleur came to the Packers after one season as playcaller with the Tennessee Titans. Before that, he was part of the Kyle Shanahan-Sean McVay coaching family.
Perhaps the biggest issue during LaFleur’s tenure was his hiring of coordinators. He fired four coordinators in his first five seasons. He retained defensive coordinator Mike Pettine from previous coach Mike McCarthy’s staff but moved on after two seasons. Pettine’s replacement, Joe Barry, lasted three seasons before LaFleur hired Jeff Hafley in 2024. LaFleur also had three different special teams coordinators. Rich Bisaccia has been in that position since 2022 after LaFleur fired Shawn Mennenga after two seasons and Mo Drayton after one.
LaFleur said he expects to lose Hafley to a head coaching job but would not say whether he planned to make any other coaching changes.
Liverpool have completed the signing of North Carolina Courage captain and Republic of Ireland international Denise O’Sullivan, the clubs announced Saturday.
The 31-year-old midfielder departs as the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) club’s all-time appearance leader after playing in 186 games during her nine seasons in North Carolina.
O’Sullivan now joins a Liverpool team that sits bottom of the Women’s Super League (WSL), without a win in 12 matches.
“It means a lot. It’s a very proud moment for myself and also for my family, who are now only a 40-minute flight away,” O Sullivan told Liverpool’s website.
“Liverpool is a massive club and I think when you join a club as big as Liverpool it comes with massive responsibility and I can’t wait to get to work and to give 100 per cent every day.”
After joining North Carolina in its inaugural NWSL season, O’Sullivan played a part in winning seven league trophies — three Shields, two Championships and two Challenge Cups.
She had been named captain ahead of the 2023 season.
“It’s hard to put into words what this club has truly meant to me,” O’Sullivan said in a statement from the Courage. “North Carolina will always be my home, and I’m forever grateful to the Club, my teammates, and the incredible fans who supported and believed in me every step of the way,”
“I’m on to a new challenge now, but I’ll always be a part of Courage Country. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything.”
The arrival of O’Sullivan, who has won 128 caps with Ireland, comes a day after Liverpool announced the loan signing of Martha Thomas from Tottenham.
The Scotland international, who joined Spurs from Manchester United in 2023, has agreed to move to Liverpool for the remainder of the season.
PA contributed to this report.
After delivering a sweeping indictment that led to the arrest of 26 individuals and busted open a college basketball point-shaving scheme that tainted dozens of games over the past two seasons, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf delivered some perspective.
“There has been a spate of these gambling cases recently,” Metcalf said. “I will say that the evidence in this case shows that the monetization of college athletics, through the liberalization and proliferation of sports betting markets, as well as the normalization of compensation in athletics, furthered the enterprise …
“But it’s complicated, right?” Metcalf continued. “As we allege in the indictment, certain players were targeted because they were somewhat missing out on NIL money and they were being targeted so they could supplement their NIL compensation.
“Whether or not they would have done or not done a particular crime based on whether other athletes were being paid, I don’t know.”
Metcalf and his colleagues out of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, not to mention the FBI, appear to have done stellar work here.
Each defendant is presumed innocent in a court of law, but anyone from the court of public opinion who reads the 70-page indictment would likely concede that evidence of malfeasance is strong.
Too many participants to maintain a conspiracy, too much money wagered on obscure games to remain under the radar and way, way too many incriminating text messages.
Some of the athletes might have had their priorities warped by legalized sports wagering and the fact that college athletes can cash in on big bucks these days through name, image and likeness.
As Metcalf smartly noted, though, it’s complicated.
And not an excuse.
If what the indictment alleges is true, then every athlete involved deliberately violated well-known laws, instinctual competitive concepts and the core bonds of team play that are present from D-I basketball down to a random 2-on-2 game at the park.
You don’t need to receive the extensive education that the NCAA provides, lectures from coaches or posters in the locker room to know what’s right and what’s wrong here.
No one should try to cry that they are a victim of a changing society. The proliferation of gambling apps or the fact that some kid at Duke or Kentucky is making millions doesn’t justify bricking a bunch of shots in the first half for a kickback.
NIL gets blamed for nearly everything in college sports these days. Can we spare it from this at least?
This is about personal accountability. This is about consciously choosing alleged criminal behavior.
That’s it.
While it is likely easier to rope in a player who doesn’t have a lucrative NIL deal, recent gambling scandals have caught up NBA and MLB players making millions as well.
That’s just society — there are more than a few doctors and lawyers and Wall Street types shuffling around the prison yard.
And yes, legalized sports wagering is prevalent these days, in your face everywhere you turn, including on ESPN.
So what?
Whether legalized betting is helping or hurting here is, in Metcalf’s terms, complicated.
The increased outlets for placing bets certainly help central figures such as Shane Hennen or Marves Fairley to allegedly wager major sums on minor games — such as $458,000 across multiple sportsbooks on a 2024 Towson-North Carolina A&T contest.
In the old days, you had to walk into a Las Vegas sportsbook to make that bet. It would have been immediately rejected. Whatever amount would have been allowed, probably wouldn’t have been worth rigging the outcome.
That said, the ever-increasing integrity efforts of sportsbooks, not to mention sophisticated state and federal regulators, no doubt played a role in flagging these schemes and then leading authorities to the charges.
Point shaving isn’t new. It was just traditionally done by organized crime to impact illegal, underground betting. That operated largely in the dark, with no protections and few prosecutions.
Legalized betting may have made these schemes easier to pull off, but also easier to bust. It, in turn, should serve as a cautionary tale.
This case isn’t about legalized sports wagering or NIL deals.
It’s about, per the feds’ narrative, a clumsy group of game-fixers convincing individual players to selfishly betray their common sense, their education on existing laws, their teammates, coaches and parents and a dream opportunity to play scholarship basketball in an effort to make a quick extra buck.
They screwed up a great deal to chase a bad one.
That part isn’t complicated.
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