“FIXER” PLEADS GUILTY IN NCAA BASKETBALL BRIBERY AND POINT-SHAVING SCHEME

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA — Roderick Winkler, 32, of Little Rock, Arkansas, pleaded guilty on October 26, 2026, to bribery in sporting contests, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud for his role in a scheme to bribe college basketball players and manipulate NCAA Division I men’s basketball games.

Winkler entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He was charged by indictment in January 2026 and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 8, 2027. He faces a maximum possible sentence of 45 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a monetary fine.

According to court filings, the broader scheme operated from approximately September 2022 through February 2025 and initially involved efforts to influence or fix games in the Chinese Basketball Association, or CBA. After co-schemers profited from fixed CBA games, the operation expanded into NCAA Division I men’s basketball.

Winkler served as a “fixer” and worked with others to recruit and bribe NCAA players to intentionally underperform so their teams would fail to cover betting spreads during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 seasons. He held a leadership role in the operation, particularly in recruiting, managing, and paying players who agreed to participate.

Winkler and other fixers contacted players in person and through social media, text messages, and telephone calls. Bribe offers generally ranged from $10,000 to $30,000 per game.

The scheme specifically targeted players whose legitimate Name, Image and Likeness, or NIL, compensation opportunities were believed to be low enough that the bribe payments would meaningfully supplement or exceed what they could otherwise earn. The fixers also generally targeted players on teams entering games as underdogs and sought agreements under which those players would help ensure their teams failed to cover the spread.

Many players accepted the offers and agreed to manipulate specific games. Winkler and others then helped arrange large wagers through sportsbooks against the teams whose players had been bribed.

Federal prosecutors said the overall scheme involved more than 39 players on more than 17 NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams and included efforts to fix or attempt to fix more than 29 NCAA games.

More than $3 million in fraudulent wagers were placed on the affected games, resulting in more than $1.1 million in losses to sportsbooks across the United States.

The case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia, with assistance from FBI New York and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Louis D. Lappen and Jerome M. Maiatico are prosecuting the case for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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