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Read Full BioProsecutors announced the indictment of 26 individuals in a college basketball match-fixing scandal on Thursday, with one of the prominent figures, Steve Hennen. The Las Vegas resident has already been indicted in the NBA betting scandal and has a long history of crime.
Hennen, along with co-defendant Marves Fairley, allegedly orchestrated the college match-fixing scheme, recruiting players to deliberately underperform in countless matches.
The 40-year-old, who hails from Philadelphia, has previously been indicted in NBA betting scandals that led to the arrests of Jontay Porter, as well as the more recent case, which saw Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups, and Damon Jones arrested.
Prosecutors say Hennen not only engaged players in point-shaving to profit from wagers on matches, but is also accused of facilitating rigged poker games along with members of Mafia families.
Hennen Sells ‘Locks’ Online
Like his longtime friend Fairley, Hennen also sells picks online, under his alias Sugar Shane. His Instagram account, @sugarshanewins promotes “locks” available to followers for a fee. Many of these picks, prosecutors allege, came from bribing college athletes to ensure their teams did not cover point spreads.
One post declares himself as “the best that eva did it.” He accompanies his picture with the comment, “To be a successful sports better long term, you need to stick to your process of picking lines and not get emotional. It’s taken me years to build my process and systems. I’m giving it away on my website so you can join me and bet with me. It’s a small investment but one that pays back BIG.”
The post was made on February 14, 2024, around the same time Hennen is alleged to have begun bribing college basketball players.
The first game flagged up by prosecutors was Nicholls State vs. McNeese State on February 17. The indictment says Hennen, Fairley, and others paid Oumar Koureissi and Diante Smith of Nicholls State $20,000 to underperform.
Before tip-off, Fairley messaged Hennen, stating, “Let’s go. First n whole game Mcneese st.” Hennen and his co-conspirators wagered $100,000 on McNeese State, which won 74-47, easily covering the 12-point spread.
Kouressi scored no points in the game. After allegedly being paid for the fix, prosecutors claim he agreed to recruit more players into the scheme.
Bets Openly Shown on Instagram
A day later, on February 18, Hennen posted a bet slip on Instagram showing a $75,000 winning bet on college basketball. That day, he is alleged to have paid Kevin Cross of Tulane $30,000 to underperform in a game against East Carolina. Cross scored six points, and Tulane lost 81-67.
In addition to Hennen’s bets, prosecutors reveal Fairley texted associates claiming to have wagered $220,000 on the game.
Attempts to fix another Tulane game on March 2 against Florida Atlantic were less successful, with Hennen reportedly losing a $200,000 wager on Florida Atlantic to cover the spread. Despite Cross’s efforts, Florida Atlantic only won by six points, failing to cover the 15-point spread.
During February and March 2024, prosecutors claim Hennen and his co-conspirators attempted to fix at least 21 games. Of these, the bettors won 13 games but lost money on the other eight.
Despite losses, Hennen’s Instagram focused on the wins. On February 28, he shows a video of a bet screen at the Aria Casino in Las Vegas with winnings of $237,463.
That day, bettors won wagers on Northern Kentucky to cover the spread against Robert Morris, after Hennen allegedly bribed players from the latter to underperform. However, they also lost bets of $275,000 on Southern Alabama to cover the first half spread against Southern Mississippi.
It is unclear exactly how much profit the scheme generated, but prosecutors say, “the fixers made wagers totaling millions of dollars, generating substantial proceeds.”
Hennen’s Instagram account had 7,002 followers, where he promoted his tipping service, which charged $99 per day for picks. Fairley’s tipping service continues to provide picks at $60 per day despite his indictments.
Hennen’s History of Crime
Hennen has a long history of crime. Sports Illustrated reported that he has the following on his record:
2007 (Pennsylvania)
- Pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct
- Pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor offenses related to gambling devices
- Pleaded guilty to a felony facsimile-bombs charge
November 2009 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
- Charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in connection with a stabbing
- Later pleaded guilty to aggravated assault
Late November 2009 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
- Arrested at the Meadows Casino parking lot
- Police suspected him of selling cocaine in the parking lot of a nearby Wendy’s
- Pleaded guilty to:
- Driving under the influence (DUI)
- Possession with intent to distribute under 500 grams of cocaine
- Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over 5 kilograms of cocaine
- Sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release
2014 (Violation of supervised release conditions)
- Despite being prohibited from leaving Pennsylvania, traveled by airplane from Gulfport to San Diego
- Did not purchase a return ticket
- Was carrying $10,769 in cash
- This travel violated the terms of his supervised release
2016
- Requested early termination of supervised release
- Cited compliance with release conditions and renal failure (kidney cancer)
- His probation officer later disputed his claim of full compliance
2017 (Kirkwood, Missouri)
- Left Pennsylvania again without authorization
- Arrested by local police for DUI
- Was carrying $14,621 in cash
- Told officers the money was from gambling winnings
- The DUI charge was later dismissed
Since being arrested in the case that led to Jontay Porter’s prosecution in January, he has been banned from several casinos. Justin Epifanio, sportsbook manager at Rivers Casino in Philadelphia, said he regularly gambled there, commenting, “We definitely know Shane. He was our top bettor for quite a while, a few years. The amounts of money he was betting were quite significant.”
He added, “The integrity behind those bets wasn’t always in question. That became a concern for us somewhere down the line.”
It is unlikely that many sportsbooks will be accepting his wagers now. Co-defendant Fairley has also been banned from many casinos. In the NCAA case, the pair is facing multiple charges of wire fraud and bribery. If convicted, they could face up to five years in prison for the bribery charge and up to 20 years in prison for each wire fraud charge.
