For some in the world of sports betting, there is a cynical adage: "Nothing is guaranteed in this world but death, taxes, and Chinese basketball." For a group of 26 individuals recently named in a sweeping federal indictment, that cynical joke was a business model, one that eventually migrated from the professional courts of China to the locker rooms of NCAA Division I programs.

Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently unsealed a 70-page indictment detailing an international criminal conspiracy to fix games between September 2022 and February 2025. The case represents one of the most significant threats to collegiate athletic integrity in the modern era, exposing how the "Litigation Era" of NIL has created a new class of vulnerable targets for organized crime.

The scheme’s alleged bridge between the professional and collegiate worlds was Antonio Blakeney, a 29-year-old former NBA player who played for the Chicago Bulls from 2017 to 2019. According to the indictment, Blakeney’s involvement began during the 2022-23 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) season while playing for the Jiangsu Dragons. Blakeney, who once averaged nearly 20 points per game in the NBA G League, allegedly leveraged his stature and locker-room access to turn professional competition into a rigged theater.

Working with "high-stakes gamblers" Marves Fairley and Shane Hennen, Blakeney allegedly recruited teammates to manipulate game outcomes. The success was lucrative; at one point, Fairley reportedly stashed $200,000 in cash, proceeds from fixed CBA games and bribe payments, into a Florida storage unit for Blakeney.

Flush with capital and a proven playbook, the group turned its sights on the United States. The "fixers" expanded to include basketball trainers Jalen Smith and Rodezuck Winkler, as well as former college player Alberto Laureano. Together, they infiltrated at least 17 NCAA Division I men’s basketball programs, involving more than 39 players in an attempt to rig over 29 games.

The inclusion of trainers is particularly damning, as these individuals often occupy positions of extreme trust, serving as the primary gatekeepers for young athletes' professional aspirations.

Perhaps the most alarming detail for sports business executives is the tactical precision with which the fixers selected their marks. The indictment explicitly states that the conspirators did not target the superstars of the Power 4 conferences who are commanded by six-figure NIL deals.

Instead, they targeted players at non-Power 4 schools, including Buffalo, DePaul, Fordham, Kennesaw State, Coppin State, La Salle, Nicholls State, Southern Miss, and Tulane, where bribe payments of $10,000 to $30,000 per game would "meaningfully supplement or exceed legitimate NIL opportunities."

The strategy was simple: find talented players on underdog teams, offer them a sum of money that dwarfed their official earnings, and instruct them to ensure their team failed to cover the spread, particularly in the first half. The focus on the first-half spread allowed the fixers to cash out early and reduced the risk of a late-game surge that might accidentally ruin the fix.

The downfall of the conspiracy was the cold reality of the modern digital trail. Federal authorities, led by the FBI’s Philadelphia field office, utilized a combination of digital footprints and financial monitoring. The indictment revealed a startling lack of operational security, with conspirators discussing point spreads over standard messaging apps.

Large six-figure wagers placed at the BetRivers Sportsbook at Rivers Casino in Philadelphia raised red flags. The concentration of high-volume bets on obscure mid-major games, often involving specific first-half point totals, triggered automated alerts. Furthermore, the NCAA and betting regulators identified performance anomalies. When a star player's shooting percentage or turnover rate takes a statistically impossible dive in specific high-stakes betting windows, the data becomes a smoking gun.

The legal consequences for the 26 defendants are severe. The charges include:

For the student-athletes involved, the professional and academic fallout was instantaneous. Players like Simeon Cottle (Kennesaw State) and Carlos Hart (Eastern Michigan) were suspended indefinitely within hours of the indictment's release. Beyond potential prison time, these athletes face permanent bans from NCAA competition and have likely forfeited any future professional prospects.

This scandal adds significant fuel to the fire for those lobbying to ban "prop bets" on individual college athlete performances. President Charlie Baker has been vocal about the "unique vulnerabilities" player-specific wagers create.

As the sports betting market continues to expand, this case serves as a grim reminder that while the modern era of college sports has brought long-overdue financial freedom to many athletes, it has also highlighted a dangerous middle class of players: those with enough talent to influence a game, but not enough NIL backing to be "unbuyable."

If the gap between an athlete's market value and their actual compensation remains large, the "Death, Taxes, and Chinese Basketball" model will continue to find new markets to exploit.