Man who helped recruit players into a sprawling NCAA basketball point-shaving scheme pleads guilty
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One of the so-called fixers in a sprawling betting scheme to cash in on big bets on rigged NCAA basketball games has pleaded guilty. The federal prosecutors' office in Philadelphia says Jalen Smith appeared Monday in federal court and pleaded guilty to wire fraud and bribery charges. Prosecutors say the Charlotte, North Carolina, man trained local basketball players and used those connections to recruit players in the scheme. Charges against Smith were unsealed in January along with 25 others. Prosecutors say Smith helped fix games in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. They say he placed bets and recruited players with the promise of a big payment in exchange for purposefully underperforming during a game.