Sportsbook operators have flagged a potential wide-ranging college basketball match-fixing syndicate. ESPN got its hands on documents detailing how the group allegedly targeted at least 11 NCAA men’s basketball games from December 2024 and January 2025, betting significant sums against the same small-conference teams on first-half spread markets.
often placed through completely new accounts or ones that had been dormant for a few weeks
These bets were often placed through completely new accounts or ones that had been dormant for a few weeks. At least nine sportsbooks across 13 states and a single Canadian province flagged almost identical suspicious betting patterns. Some operators had seen similar patterns during the 2023-2024 season.
The FBI and the US Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are investigating the matter for possible signs of point-shaving or another types of game manipulation.
Caesars alleged in the documents that Marves Finley, a Mississippi man who sells sports betting picks online, could be the head of the syndicate. When ESPN approached him for comment, he denied any links to the matter.
Five schools involved in the suspicious games – Mississippi Valley State, North Carolina A&T, New Orleans, Temple, and Eastern Michigan – already have 13 players under investigation for betting offenses related to the flagged games.
