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- Shane Hennen pleaded guilty in federal court to sports bribery and fraud charges involving manipulated college and international basketball games.
- Hennen also admitted to using nonpublic information to bet on NBA games while still facing charges in a Mafia-backed poker case.
Shane Hennen, a Las Vegas sports bettor indicted in three federal gambling cases, pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Philadelphia to charges tied to betting schemes involving the NBA, NCAA, and Chinese Basketball Association.
The plea is a significant development in a high-profile sports betting integrity case that spans multiple jurisdictions and alleged schemes. According to the Department of Justice plea memorandum, Hennen faces a maximum sentence of 125 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for Feb. 25, 2027.
Guilty pleas cover two separate federal betting cases
According to ESPN, Hennen pleaded guilty to sports bribery, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy charges related to wire fraud and money laundering in two cases.
Federal prosecutors said the alleged scheme began around September 2022 and lasted nearly three years. In court documents, prosecutors said Hennen acted as a fixer in a plan to influence basketball games in the Chinese Basketball Association and NCAA men’s basketball.
“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.
Prosecutors also alleged that Hennen bet heavily on those games and coordinated wagers by others.
“The defendant then placed large wagers on those games and arranged for others to do so, generating proceeds for the scheme,” prosecutors said.
Hennen also pleaded guilty in a separate case involving the use of nonpublic information to bet on NBA games and players. That case was brought in the Eastern District of New York and involves Terry Rozier, according to the source report.
Sentencing is set for February 2027
Hennen was indicted in three high-profile federal gambling cases but has now pleaded guilty in two of them.
He still faces charges in a third case involving allegedly rigged poker games backed by the Mafia, according to ESPN. Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones were also indicted in that poker case.
For bettors, sportsbook watchers, and operators of online casinos, the case stands out because it combines several of the biggest integrity risks in sports wagering: alleged player bribery, purported match manipulation, and betting based on nonpublic information.
The next key date is Hennen’s sentencing on Feb. 25, 2027, when a federal judge in Philadelphia is scheduled to determine his punishment.
Source: As reported by David Purdum.
