A man who led a scheme to fix college basketball games will spend six years in prison.
Jalen Smith, 30, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Philadelphia. He'll also have to pay more than $1 million.
Between 2023 and 2025, Smith bribed NCAA men's basketball players to play worse, so their teams would fail to cover the spread. Then, Smith put together large wagers on the games he helped fix. Prosecutors say he took on a leadership role in the gambling ring, approaching players in person, online and via text.
The scheme involved nearly 40 players on more than a dozen Division I teams. Smith helped fix almost 30 games. Smith and his cohorts placed more than $3 million on those games.
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
