North Carolina A&T State University basketball players accused of fixing game
from Brayden Stamps at FOX 8 TV/www.myfox8.com
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — A pair of basketball players, who at the time played for the North Carolina A&T State University men’s basketball team, allegedly conspired to fix a game in 2024, according to a federal indictment.
ESPN initially reported in 2023 that a gambling ring had come under federal investigation for unusual wagers that were placed on three men’s college basketball games, one of which involved a bet against NC A&T in the Jan. 9, 2023, game versus the University of Delaware.
However, the indictment’s allegations pertain to a game that was played on Feb. 29, 2024, against Towson University.
According to the indictment, the alleged “fixers,” which included former NBA player Antonio Blakeney, a man named Jalen Smith and a man named Roderick Winkler, recruited then-NC A&T guard Camian Shell and another unnamed NC A&T player, referred to as “Person #11,” to their point-shaving scheme.
Allegedly, Shell and Person #11 “agreed to underperform and influence” A&T’s upcoming game.
Shell while at N.C. A&T University:
Position:
Guard
Height:
5-10
Weight:
170
Class:
Junior
Hometown:
Winston-Salem, N.C.
Highschool:
Parkland
**********Shell also played quarterback for the WS Parkland Mustang’s football team, while back in high school…**********
The indictment alleges that Towson was favored to outscore A&T by 7 points in the first half by sportsbooks in the United States and elsewhere. Prior to the game, a pair of other alleged “fixers” who were named in the indictment, “Marves Fairley and Shane Hennen, and others acting in their direction, placed wagers with various sportsbooks totaling at least approximately $458,000 on Towson.” The fixers bet on Towson to outscore A&T by more than 7 points in the first half and for Towson to win the game outright.
Fairley and Hennen were previously accused of being schemers in a “widespread sports betting and money laundering conspiracy,” by the Department of Justice in October 2025.
According to the indictment, “Fairley, Blakeney and other co-schemers engaged in numerous text message communications coordinating the wagers on this game.” Smith allegedly talked to Shell through text and phone calls about the details of the scheme to fix the game. One text to Shell allegedly instructed him to ensure the score of the game was not close and Shell is accused of answering that text affirmatively.
The indictment accuses Shell and Person #11 of underperforming and influencing the first half of the Feb. 29, 2024, game against Towson as they had agreed to do. Towson held a 42-21 lead on A&T at halftime and the fixers won their bets. A&T then played better in the second half, only being outscored 42-37, leading to a final score of 84-58 in Towson’s favor.
Shortly after the game ended, Smith allegedly contacted Shell about delivering the bribe payment to him in Greensboro, according to the indictment. Shell expressed that he could have a hard time meeting Smith due to his basketball obligations and Smith suggested that he deliver the bribe payment to another person. Shell is alleged to have responded, “Hell nah, [ain’t] nobody down here I trust, what time it say you gone get here?” Later in the conversation, Shell is alleged to have asked, “How much was it suppose to bejust in case bruh try to touch our sh*t?”
Shell left A&T and transferred to Delaware State University for the 2025-26 season.
What else is in the indictment?
In total, 20 people are charged in the indictment, including 15 college basketball players at various schools.
The schools impacted include:
Abilene Christian University
Alabama State University
The University at Buffalo
Coppin State University
DePaul University
Eastern Michigan University
Fordham University
Kennesaw State University
La Salle University
The University of New Orleans
Nicholls State University
North Carolina A&T State University
Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Robert Morris University
Saint Louis University
The University of Southern Mississippi
Tulane University of Louisiana
NCAA President Charlie Baker released the following statement on the indictments:
Protecting competition integrity is of the utmost importance for the NCAA. We are thankful for law enforcement agencies working to detect and combat integrity issues and match manipulation in college sports.
The pattern of college basketball game integrity conduct revealed by law enforcement today is 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.
Our enforcement staff has opened sports betting integrity investigations into approximately 40 student-athletes from 20 schools over the past year. While some of the investigations are ongoing, 11 student-athletes from seven schools were recently found to have bet on their own performances, shared information with known bettors, and/or engaged in game manipulation to collect on bets they – or others – placed. This behavior resulted in a permanent loss of NCAA eligibility for all of them. Additionally, 13 student-athletes from eight schools (including some of those identified above) were found to have failed to cooperate in the sports betting integrity investigation by providing false or misleading information, failing to provide relevant documentation and/or refusing to be interviewed by the enforcement staff. None of them are competing today.
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. We also will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement. We urge all student-athletes to make well-informed choices to avoid jeopardizing the game and their eligibility.