A North Carolina man pleaded guilty on Monday to charges connected to his "leadership role" in a massive point-shaving operation that rigged dozens of college basketball games.
Jalen Smith, a 30-year-old Charlotte resident, was the first of 26 defendants to admit to criminal wrongdoing in the sprawling scheme that brought a federal prosecution out of Philadelphia earlier this year.
During a hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro, Smith pleaded guilty to bribery, wire fraud and illegal possession of a firearm.
The defendant was a "fixer" who recruited players "to underperform and help ensure their team failed to cover the spread in games during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 NCAA men’s basketball seasons," according to a statement by federal prosecutors.
Smith was crucial in the operation, authorities said.
"Smith had a leadership role in the scheme, particularly in recruiting, managing, and paying players for their roles," prosecutors said.
With players agreeing to take a dive, Smith and his cohorts "helped to arrange for large wagers to be placed on those games, betting against the team whose player or players they had bribed to engage in this point-shaving scheme," the prosecutors said.
The point-shaving operation involved "more than 39 players on more than 17 different NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams who then fixed and attempted to fix more than 29 NCAA games," according to prosecutors.
The bribery charge carries a maximum sentence of 5 years behind bars, wire fraud tops out at 20 years and the firearms violation could bring up to 20 years in prison.
Smith's attorney could not immediately be reached by NBC News reached for comment on Monday afternoon.
