A Las Vegas bettor has pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme that used nonpublic information to wager on NBA games and players, adding a significant development to the federal case involving Terry Rozier.
Shane Hennen entered guilty pleas Wednesday in Philadelphia in two federal gambling cases, according to David Purdum of ESPN. One involved the NBA betting scheme out of the Eastern District of New York. The other concerned efforts to fix NCAA and Chinese Basketball Association games.
Across the two cases, Hennen pleaded guilty to sports bribery, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy charges related to wire fraud and money laundering.
His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 25, 2027. The Justice Department’s plea memorandum lists a maximum sentence of 125 years, though that is the potential statutory maximum rather than a sentence already imposed.
In the college and Chinese basketball case, prosecutors said Hennen acted as a fixer in a scheme that began around September 2022 and lasted nearly three years. Participants recruited and bribed players to underperform so their teams would fail to cover betting spreads, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Hennen placed large wagers and arranged for others to bet as well.
His NBA-related plea concerns the use of nonpublic information. It does not establish the guilt of other defendants in that case.
Hennen also still faces charges in a separate case involving allegedly rigged poker games that prosecutors say were backed by the Mafia. Chauncey Billups and former NBA player and coach Damon Jones were also indicted in that case.
Those poker charges remain separate from the guilty pleas entered Wednesday. Hennen’s attorney declined comment to ESPN.
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