Former College Basketball Player Charged in Alleged $2.2 Million Wire Fraud Scheme

CLARKSBURG, West Virginia — A former college basketball player has been charged in federal court in connection with an alleged multi-year fraud scheme that prosecutors say defrauded multiple victims out of nearly $2.2 million through a series of fabricated stories, false identities, and deceptive communications.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia, Kerr Kriisa, 25, an Estonian national, was arrested and is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court this week on five counts of wire fraud.

Federal prosecutors allege the scheme operated from 2022 through June 2, 2026, while Kriisa was in Monongalia County, West Virginia, and elsewhere.

According to the federal indictment, Kriisa allegedly convinced victims to send large sums of money by repeatedly making false claims about urgent personal and family emergencies.

Prosecutors allege he used fabricated identities and posed as multiple individuals, including fictional contacts and purported family members, to add credibility to his requests.

The indictment alleges that Kriisa falsely claimed:

• His family was facing immediate danger.
• His mother required cancer treatment.
• Family property needed emergency financial assistance.
• Other urgent personal crises required immediate monetary support.

Federal prosecutors contend these representations were knowingly false and were intended to persuade victims to continue sending money over an extended period.

Court documents allege that Kriisa repeatedly solicited payments from two victims over several years.

According to prosecutors, he also allegedly instructed one victim to transfer money to another victim under false pretenses as part of the overall scheme.

The indictment further describes numerous emails and text messages that investigators say were used to facilitate the alleged fraud. Five specific interstate wire transmissions form the basis of the federal wire fraud charges.

In April 2025, prosecutors allege Kriisa signed a written agreement promising to repay one victim $100,000 by February 2026. The government alleges that the repayment agreement itself was fraudulent and intended to continue the deception rather than satisfy the alleged debt.

Before the federal charges were filed, Kriisa played collegiate basketball at several major Division I programs during his career.

According to prosecutors, he competed for the University of Arizona, West Virginia University, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Cincinnati during his collegiate basketball career.

The criminal charges relate to the alleged financial fraud scheme and are not connected to his collegiate athletic career.

Federal prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of property and assets allegedly connected to the offenses.

The government is requesting a money judgment of approximately $2.2 million, representing proceeds prosecutors allege were obtained through the fraudulent scheme.

Wire fraud is a serious federal offense involving the use of interstate communications—including electronic transfers, emails, telephone calls, and text messages—to carry out schemes intended to obtain money or property through false or fraudulent representations. Convictions can result in substantial prison sentences, financial penalties, restitution orders, and forfeiture of illegally obtained proceeds.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia.

Because the case is at the indictment stage, the allegations contained in the charging document have not been proven in court. Kerr Kriisa is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia. Court filings were also reviewed from the federal indictment in United States v. Kerr Kriisa. (Free Download)

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