Las Vegas resident Shane Hennen, a 41-year-old high-stakes gambler known as "Sugar Shane," pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Philadelphia to charges stemming from a years-long scheme to fix NCAA Division I and Chinese Basketball Association games. Hennen entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro, admitting to bribery in sporting contests, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Hennen's primary role was placing and arranging large bets on games that fixers had bribed players to influence. The scheme, which began in September 2022, involved more than 39 players across over 17 NCAA Division I men's basketball teams who fixed or attempted to fix more than 29 games. Prosecutors said the operation generated more than $3 million in bets and caused more than $1.1 million in losses to sportsbooks nationwide.
Hennen also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in a separate New York case involving NBA prop bets. That investigation centered on bets placed using confidential inside information on players, including former NBA players Terry Rozier and Damon Jones. The New York case was part of a broader FBI investigation into illegal poker games allegedly tied to the Lucchese crime family that led to 31 arrests, including NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, who was not implicated in game-fixing.
The Philadelphia 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. The New York case was investigated by FBI New York and the NYPD. Hennen faces a maximum of 85 years in prison in the Pennsylvania case and 40 years in the New York case, along with supervised release, fines, and restitution. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 27 in Philadelphia.
Sources: 8 News Now
Original reporting: 8 News Now →
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