PHILADELPHIA, PA — Jalen Smith, 30, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges tied to a bribery and point-shaving scheme involving NCAA Division I men’s basketball and Chinese Basketball Association games, federal prosecutors said.
Smith entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro to charges of bribery in sporting contests, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Prosecutors said Smith participated in a scheme from about September 2022 through February 2025 to influence basketball games so bettors could profit from wagers placed through sportsbooks.
According to an indictment unsealed in January, Smith acted as a “fixer,” working with co-conspirators to recruit and bribe NCAA basketball players to underperform so their teams would fail to cover the point spread during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 seasons.
Authorities said Smith helped arrange large wagers on those games after coordinating with players who had agreed to participate in the scheme.
Prosecutors said Smith played a leadership role by recruiting, managing, and paying players involved in the operation.
Investigators said fixers approached players in person and through social media, text messages, and phone calls, offering bribes generally ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game.
According to prosecutors, the scheme involved more than 39 players on more than 17 NCAA Division I teams and targeted at least 29 games.
Authorities said fixers often targeted players on underdog teams and sought to influence them to perform poorly so their teams would not cover the betting spread.
Prosecutors said the conspirators made wagers totaling millions of dollars and paid participating players hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes.
In one instance in early March 2024, prosecutors said Smith texted a recruited player during halftime of a game when the score was tied and urged the player to underperform in the second half, writing that the game “need[ed] to be a blowout” and that the player was “supposed to be . . . losing.”
Authorities said Smith and other conspirators later traveled to campuses to deliver cash payments to players who participated in fixing games.
Smith also pleaded guilty to a separate firearms charge after investigators found him in possession of a loaded Kahr Arms CT380 semi-automatic pistol during a search of his residence in Charlotte on May 21, 2025, prosecutors said.
The bribery charge carries a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison, while each wire fraud charge carries a maximum of 20 years, prosecutors said.
The firearms charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Louis D. Lappen and Jerome M. Maiatico.
Authorities asked anyone with information about the scheme to contact FBI Philadelphia at 215-418-4000 and reference “NCAA point-shaving.”
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