A former Fordham University men’s basketball team was one of the college basketball players named in a sweeping point-shaving racket involving upwards of 39 players from at least 17 NCAA Division I programs.
Four players involved in the scandal, Simeon Cottle (Kennesaw State), Carlos Hart (Eastern Michigan), Camian Shell (Delaware State) and Oumar Koureissi (Texas Southern), participated in games within the last week.
The federal indictment, which was unsealed Thursday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleged that ex-Fordham player Elijah Gray conspired with defendants Jalen Smith, Antonio Blakeney and Marves Fairley to fix a game against Duquesne University on Feb. 23, 2024.
The indictment alleges that Smith contacted Gray, whom he knew through mutual connections within the basketball community in North Carolina, on social media, and offered “a bribe payment of approximately $10,000 or $15,000 to underperform in and influence an upcoming Fordham basketball game.”
The document continues that Gray agreed to participate in the scheme.
Shortly after the initial communication, Gray was contacted by Fairley and Blakeney with instructions for the scheme.
“In this video call, the fixers instructed Gray to fix the upcoming Fordham basketball game against the Duquesne University Dukes Men’s Basketball Team by helping to ensure that Fordham failed to cover the spread,” the document charges.
“The fixers also asked Gray to recruit another Fordham basketball player to join the point-shaving scheme. Gray agreed to do so and then recruited Person #4, known to the grand jury, to join the scheme.”
From there, Smith contacted Gray and Person #4 to instruct them to underperform and ensure Fordham failed to cover the spread.
Smith allegedly reminded both players that they would receive bribe payments if the scheme succeeded.
According to the document, the fixers placed various wagers across different sportsbooks totaling upwards of $195,000 on Duquesne to cover the full-game spread.
Fordham was a 3.5-point favorite in the contest and won the game handily, 79-67, meaning the fixers lost their bet.
After the game, Smith contacted Gray, who scored just three points in the contest.
During this exchange, Gray allegedly told Smith, “I tried,” and said that the Duquesne players “were not hoopin’.”
Smith purportedly responded, “You did your job for sure,” before the players complained that another player on the Rams, who wasn’t involved in the fix, had an “excellent game.”
Kyle Rose paced Fordham with 23 points that night.
Gray transferred from Fordham to Temple after the 2023-24 season, and finished his career at Wisconsin before being dismissed before this season.
“Elijah Gray has been dismissed from the University of Wisconsin-Madison men’s basketball team related to events preceding his enrollment at UW-Madison,” the school said in a release.
NCAA president Charlie Baker released a statement Thursday calling for more regulation on collegiate prop bets.
“The Association has and will continue to aggressively pursue sports betting violations in college athletics using a layered integrity monitoring program that covers over 22,000 contests, but we still need the remaining states, regulators and gaming companies to eliminate threats to integrity – such as collegiate prop bets – to better protect athletes and leagues from integrity risks and predatory bettors,” he said.
