Mississippi sports gambler and social media influencer Marves Fairley has “agreed in writing to plead guilty” for his role in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s January NCAA point-shaving case, according to ESPN.
Fairley performed in the point-shaving scheme as a “fixer,” an individual who bribes participants to impact outcomes and statistical performances in order to allow themselves and others to manipulate markets and receive money for betting on the adjusted scores and totals.
Fairley has maintained his social media presence as a sports gambling influencer despite his guilty plea, including providing his picks for NBA playoff games on his Instagram account as recently as Monday afternoon.
The original criminal complaint, which indicted former DePaul players Jalen Terry and Da’Sean Nelson for their role in fixing “DePaul men’s basketball games through point shaving,” was filed Jan. 14, 2026.
The players were charged for their involvement in three 2024 games in which Terry, Nelson and Micawber Etienne were found to have received bribery payment for purposefully underperforming against the Georgetown Hoyas, the Butler Bulldogs and the St. John’s Red Storm.
Etienne, who was charged elsewhere, recruited Terry, Nelson and an unidentified third player to intentionally allow DePaul’s opponents to cover the first half spread, which the fixers and others “acting at their direction” bet upwards of $123,789 on, according to the criminal complaint. The players were awarded with at least $80,000 in bribery payments for their successful cooperation.
Fairley is one of four fixers charged in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alongside fellow gambler and influencer Shane Hennen, trainers Jalen Smith and Roderick Winkler, and former NCAA player Alberto Laureano. Fairley joins Smith as one of the two fixers in this case that have agreed to guilty pleas.
Fairley and Hennen are also defendants in an Eastern District of New York criminal complaint surrounding the NBA’s October 2025 gambling scandal, where fixers were similarly found to have bribed players, obtained insider information and impacted stat lines and scores.
Fairley and Hennen are the only two fixers to be involved in both the NCAA and NBA schemes. According to Forbes, Fairley has also pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York for his role in the latter scheme.
Various NCAA players involved, including Etienne, have already pleaded guilty to their involvement on the court.
Related stories:
- Former DePaul basketball players indicted on sports gambling charges
- Chris Holtmann addresses point-shaving scheme by former DePaul players
- DePaul men’s basketball head coach Chris Holtmann named Skip Prosser Man of the Year
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