Jalen Smith Sentenced to 6 Years in Federal Prison in NCAA Basketball Point-Shaving Case

Jalen Smith will spend six years in federal prison for helping rig college basketball games. Federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania announced the sentence today, Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Smith, 30, of Charlotte, North Carolina, is the first person sentenced in an investigation that prosecutors say exposed a sprawling network of professional gamblers and college players profiting from fixed games. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to bribery and wire fraud. He also pleaded guilty to a separate felony gun possession charge.

U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said Smith played a "central role" in fixing games in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 NCAA Division I seasons.

How the scheme worked

According to prosecutors, Smith placed bets and recruited players with the promise of a big payment for deliberately underperforming. Bettors then wagered against those players' teams, defrauding sportsbooks and other gamblers.

The targets were picked with care. Smith and others went after players on underdog teams and encouraged them to underperform so certain point spreads would hold, prosecutors said. Those players were prime targets, prosecutors said, because the offered money exceeded what they could earn from legitimate sponsorships.

An indictment puts the payments to players at typically $10,000 to $30,000 per game.

Smith trained and developed local basketball players for professional scouting combines. Prosecutors say he used those connections to get inside the scheme.

The fixing is said to have touched nearly 30 games. Schools named include DePaul University, the State University of New York at Buffalo and Tulane University, among others.

The money

The scheme produced more than $3 million in fraudulent wagers, prosecutors said. Smith must pay $1.1 million in restitution, which prosecutors described as the cost gambling platforms incurred because of the scheme.

Prosecutors accused Smith and at least 26 other named defendants of wagering millions of dollars and paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to players.

The charges were announced at a Jan. 15, 2026 news conference in Philadelphia. Prosecutors said the case involved a betting scheme to rig NCAA games and Chinese Basketball Association games, and the defendants include former college basketball players.

Smith's attorney did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday.

The official response

Wayne A. Jacobs, special agent in charge of the FBI's Philadelphia office, said the sentence carries a message. "Those who exploit professional and collegiate athletes for personal gain will be held accountable," he said.

Jacobs added: "This conduct does more than harm individual athletes. It undermines the integrity of sports and the trust placed in fair competition."

He is right about the stakes. A fixed game poisons everything that depends on it: the sportsbook that took the bet, the gambler on the other side, the teammates who played it straight, and the fans watching.

What comes next

The timing is awkward for the sport. The sentence lands at the start of the 2026-27 season, when bettors will wager billions of dollars on games nationwide, both legally and illegally. Law enforcement, regulators and sports leagues have struggled to keep pace with the growth of gambling in college and pro sports.

Smith's six years are a single data point. Prosecutors have named at least 26 other defendants, and the charges against them are allegations, not findings. No sentencing dates for those defendants have been announced. Their cases will show whether the Smith sentence is the template or the low end for those who paid players and placed the bets.