HBCU basketball players connected to FBI gambling indictment

Twenty-four former college basketball players involved in a point-shaving scheme have been indicted by the FBI, per a report by ESPN. The case has an HBCU connection: among the 29 games and 17 programs affected by the scheme, North Carolina A&T, Mississippi Valley State, Delaware State, Alabama State, and Texas Southern were involved.

HBCU basketball players Camian Shell and Oumar Koureissi are both active players who are included in the indictment. Shell plays for Delaware State, and Koureissi currently plays for Texas Southern. Meanwhile, Alabama State, Coppin State, and North Carolina A&T’s programs are also included in the indictment.

The gambling ring named in the indictment placed bets on HBCU basketball games, and sportsbooks linked the ring to suspicious wagers against the teams playing. One specific instance reported by ESPN’s David Purdum in February 2025 involved North Carolina A&T’s January 9th game against Delaware, in which wagers on Delaware shifted from -2 to -3.5.

Another instance involved a 458,000 wager on North Carolina A&T’s game against fellow CAA opponent Towson University, which drew the attention of sportsbooks and triggered an internal review.

In a media statement obtained by ESPN in February 2025, the NCAA said, “The NCAA takes sports betting very seriously and is committed to the protection of student-athlete well-being and the integrity of competition,” the NCAA said in a statement to ESPN and other media outlets. “The Association works with integrity monitoring services, state regulators and other stakeholders to conduct appropriate due diligence whenever suspicious reports are received. Due to confidentiality rules put in place by NCAA member schools, the NCAA will not comment on current or potential investigations.”

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