A central figure in multiple sports betting schemes pleaded guilty to federal bribery, wire fraud, and money laundering in a Philadelphia court Wednesday.
- Shane Hennen faces a combined maximum of 125 years in prison across two federal cases.
- Hennen will be sentenced in February.
- The CBA game-fixing scheme began around September 2022 before expanding to college basketball.
Shane Hennen, 41, faces a combined maximum sentence of 125 years in prison for his role in basketball game-fixing and a separate NBA betting conspiracy.
“The defendant engaged in the scheme as a ‘fixer,’ working together with others who recruited and bribed CBA and NCAA men's basketball players to underperform and help ensure their team failed to cover the spread,” federal prosecutors said in court documents obtained by ESPN. “The defendant then placed large wagers on those games, and arranged for others to do so, generating proceeds for the scheme.”
Sentence coming in 2027
Hennen was arrested at the Las Vegas airport in January 2025 and charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering for receiving nonpublic information that former NBA center Jontay Porter would manipulate his performance to help a group of bettors wager on his under player props.
Hennen was also named in the Eastern District of New York case involving former Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier. Prosecutors allege that Hennen received nonpublic information for wagering purposes.
He is also charged in the illegal poker game scheme that involves the mob and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. That federal case is still pending.
Hennen is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 25, 2027, after pleading guilty to charges in two federal cases involving basketball game-fixing, wire fraud, and money laundering.
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Birthing a conspiracy
Hennen's plea comes a day after basketball trainer Jalen Smith received a six-year prison sentence for his role in the college basketball point-shaving scheme, which involved 39 players, 17 NCAA schools, and nearly 30 games.
Hennen was part of the group that allegedly launched the three-year scheme around September 2022. According to the indictment, he worked with co-conspirator Marves Fairley, who is also involved in the Rozier case, to bribe players to underperform in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and profit from wagers on those games.
Federal prosecutors described Hennen and Fairley as “high-stakes sports gamblers, social media influencers, and sports handicappers who sold betting advice to others.”
Fixing games
Hennen and Fairley recruited former NBA player Antonio Blakeney, who played for the Jiangsu Dragons, and worked to persuade other players to underperform during the 2022-23 season.
After the CBA scheme, Hennen and Fairley enlisted additional recruiters to offer NCAA players bribes of $10,000 to $30,000 to underperform during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. The conspirators were all betting on the other teams to cover spreads.
“They placed these bets in a manner that was consistent with the way in which they had arranged to fix the outcome of a game, or a portion of a game, to maximize their chances of winning their wagers,” federal prosecutors wrote. “To conceal their scheme from authorities and increase their ability to make bets, the fixers also used ‘straw’ or ‘proxy’ bettors to place bets on the fixed games for them with funds provided by the fixers.”
The indictment alleges that Hennen communicated and strategized with the group while in Pennsylvania and placed wagers on fixed games through online sportsbooks and retail betting outlets.
