PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Federal prosecutors charged 20 people on Thursday, including 15 former college basketball players, in what they called a betting scheme to rig NCAA and Chinese Basketball Association games.
Of the defendants, 15 played basketball for Division 1 NCAA schools as recently as the 2024-25 season.
The other five defendants were described by authorities as fixers.
They include two men who prosecutors say worked in the training and development of basketball players. Another was a trainer and former coach; one was a former NCAA player; and two were described as gamblers, influencers, and sports handicappers.
The charges, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, include wire fraud.
In the 70-page indictment, authorities say the fixers recruited the college basketball players with "bribe payments" usually ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game.
NCAA president Charlie Baker said the indictments are "not entirely new information to the NCAA. Through helpful collaboration and with industry regulators, we have finished or have open investigations into almost all of the teams in today's indictment."
He added: "The Association has and will continue to aggressively pursue sports betting violations in college athletics using a layered integrity monitoring program that covers over 22,000 contests, but we still need the remaining states, regulators and gaming companies to eliminate threats to integrity - such as collegiate prop bets - to better protect athletes and leagues from integrity risks and predatory bettors."
The indictment follows a series of NCAA investigations that led to at least 10 players receiving lifetime bans this year for bets that sometimes involved their own teams and their own performances. And the NCAA has said that at least 30 players have been investigated over gambling allegations.
An investigation that concluded in November found that former Arizona State men's basketball guard BJ Freeman lent information to another college basketball player and his then-girlfriend to bet on his performances while he was playing for ASU in 2024-25, the NCAA said.
The guard "participated in a negotiated resolution and agreed to his violations" but has permanently lost eligibility, the NCAA said. He had one year of eligibility remaining.
Freeman's case was tied to that of former Fresno State guard Mykell Robinson, whose phone records indicated that Freeman gave him information to bet on four Sun Devil games from November and December of 2024.
Arizona State's program was not involved in game manipulation or sports betting.
The investigation found Freeman suggested Robinson or his girlfriend bet the over for turnovers or points on five occasions, which the NCAA deemed as violations involving betting-related game manipulation.
The NCAA also determined Freeman provided false information to investigators.
More than 30 people were also charged in last year's sprawling federal takedown of illegal gambling operations linked to professional basketball.