Arlando Arnold, a former Southern Miss basketball player, is among 39 players across the NCAA who were in on a point-shaving scheme.
Southern Miss Athletic Director Jerry McClain says, “This news is disappointing to everyone associated with Southern Miss Athletics. Integrity is important to anyone who loves college sports, and the university stands ready to assist in making sure incidents like these are removed from the competitive space in college athletics.”
On Jan. 15, federal prosecutors revealed a scheme to rig college basketball games while submitting big payouts to gamblers. According to a federal indictment revealed by the U.S. Department of Justice, 26 people are charged in what prosecutors describe as a scheme from September 2022 through February 2025 to fix NCAA men’s basketball games and select Chinese professional league games through bribery and structured betting activity.
Ahead of the Feb. 2024 matchup at South Alabama, Arnold and his two teammates, whose names have not been identified, allegedly agreed to underperform in the first half to fulfill a 1.5-point spread favoring the Jaguars.
Betters, under the guidance of Marves Fairley of Carson, Miss., and fellow accused fixer Shane Hennen, placed around $275,000 in South Alabama to cover the first half spread. Arnold did not score in the half; the game was tied at the midway pause, meaning Southern Miss had beaten the spread, costing the bettors‘ money.
Another player from Mississippi is also charged with the scheme.
Cedquavious Hunter, from Como, a former player from the University of New Orleans, has been charged with bribery in sporting games.
Hunter was recently penalized by the NCAA for underperforming in various games.
NCAA President Charlie Baker and the organization stated they are aggressively pursuing sports betting violations using a monitoring program that covers over 22,000 contests. The organization continues to urge student-athletes to utilize the provided educational resources to avoid violating and jeopardizing their eligibility.
