TLDR Jalen Smith pleaded guilty to recruiting college players to shave points, paying them $10,000–$30,000 per game The scheme covered 39+ players across 17 NCAA teams and affected over 29 games between 2022 and 2025 Fixers targeted low-NIL players and often focused on first-half spreads to avoid affecting final scores The operation started in the Chinese Basketball Association before moving to NCAA basketball Five co-conspirators have been named, with links to a separate NBA illegal gambling investigation
Jalen Smith pleaded guilty in federal court on March 9 to his role as a fixer in one of the largest point-shaving schemes in college basketball history. He admitted to paying players to deliberately underperform so their teams would fail to cover the betting spread.
Players were paid between $10,000 and $30,000 per game in cash. Smith and his co-conspirators then placed large bets against those teams through sportsbooks and intermediaries.
The scheme ran from at least September 2022 through February 2025. It involved more than 39 players across at least 17 NCAA teams and affected over 29 games.
Smith faces up to 20 years in prison on wire fraud charges. The bribery in sporting contests charge carries a maximum of five years.
The operation originally started in the Chinese Basketball Association, where members of the group first arranged point shaving before expanding to NCAA men’s basketball.
How Fixers Chose Their Targets
Smith and his team did not approach star players. They specifically targeted athletes with little or no NIL income — players at mid-major programs who were not earning sponsorship deals.
NIL compensation was legalized in 2021, allowing college athletes to earn money from their name, image, and likeness. But most Division I players still earn very little or nothing at all.
For those players, a cash payment