Nevada Gaming Control Board agents have made an arrest involving a point-shaving investigation involving the Fresno State University basketball program.
The Control Board on Thursday did not disclose the identity of the person arrested, pending further investigation of other possible participants in a conspiracy uncovered last year.
Evidence obtained through subpoenas, financial records, cellphone data, licensed sportsbook operators and in coordination with the National Collegiate Athletic Association established probable cause that multiple individuals conspired to fraudulently place wagers tied to the intentional underperformance of a Fresno State athlete during a Jan. 7, 2025, Mountain West Conference basketball game against Colorado State University.
The investigation revealed an alleged conspiracy involving former and current associates connected to collegiate basketball programs, who coordinated and illegally profited from proposition wagers that they made based on their inside knowledge of a player’s intentional underperformance.
The NCAA completed its own investigation in September and ruled that Fresno State forward Mykell Robinson, San Jose State University guard Steven Vasquez and Fresno State guard Jalen Weaver are permanently ineligible due to gambling violations and were expelled from their schools.
Robinson and Vasquez were roommates at Fresno State during the 2023-24 basketball season and conspired to wager on Robinson to underperform during a game won by the Colorado State Rams, 91-64.
In that game, Robinson, who previously averaged 10.3 points per game, scored three points in 21 minutes of playing time.
The suspect arrested was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on May 5 for fraud, conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to launder money.
ESPN reported in September that three proposition bets totaling $2,200 were placed on the under on Robinson’s statistics. The bets, which were flagged by a Nevada sportsbook operator, won a net $15,950. One of the bets was placed by Vasquez and a “sportsbook trader,” according to the NCAA.
“During the game, Robinson altered his performance, with three points scored, two rebounds, one three-pointer and no assists, to ensure the under-line bets won,” the NCAA wrote in its case synopsis, according to ESPN.
ESPN reported the NCAA investigation also discovered that Robinson and Weaver, who were teammates at Fresno State, discussed the betting lines on each other’s statistics and placed bets on themselves and each other in select games. Weaver, who cooperated with the investigation, also placed a $50 parlay bet on himself, Robinson and a third student-athlete, and won $260, the NCAA said.
“The Nevada Gaming Control Board remains committed to protecting the integrity of Nevada’s gaming industry and will continue to aggressively investigate any activity that threatens the fairness and public confidence of regulated sports wagering,” Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzer said in a release.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
