Kerr Kriisa, a former guard for the University of West Virginia, faces five counts of wire fraud linked to a scheme totaling $2.2 million, as detailed in an indictment unsealed on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.
Despite earlier reports suggesting Kriisa was being investigated for bribery related to sporting events, the indictment revealed that he is not charged with any point-shaving violations. During the 2025-26 season, Kriisa participated in 19 games for the University of Cincinnati, marking the end of his six years in NCAA Division I basketball.
After his time at Cincinnati, Kriisa, originally from Estonia, signed with Tartu Ülikool in the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League. Prior to Cincinnati, he played three seasons with the University of Arizona from 2020 to 2023, along with stints at West Virginia and Kentucky.
Kriisa is the son of Valmo Kriisa, a former player for the Estonian national team. According to the indictment, he impersonated his mother, Kersti Kull, to solicit funds by falsely claiming they were for her cancer treatments.
U.S. Attorney Matthew Harvey commented on the case, stating, "Financial fraud schemes erode trust and cause real harm to victims who believed they were helping someone in need. Our office will continue to pursue individuals who exploit others through deception. We are committed to holding them accountable for their actions."
During the Fourth of July celebrations in the U.S., Kriisa was arrested by the FBI. He had previously played nine games for the Kentucky Wildcats in the 2024-25 season and is currently awaiting extradition to West Virginia, according to multiple reports.
The indictment claims Kriisa began his fraudulent activities in 2022, aiming to defraud individuals using materially false pretenses in northern West Virginia, with the operation extending to June of this year. He allegedly used fabricated identities and deceptive communications to solicit funds from multiple victims. In one instance, he took on the identity of an individual named “Irene” in efforts to procure financial payments from a person referred to as “Victim 2.”
Additionally, Kriisa had sent numerous emails over three years to “Victim 1,” seeking payments to assist his family's farm while impersonating his mother. In November 2022, while playing for Arizona, he even claimed he intended to sell his organs to repay a debt to her.
The indictment includes various communications tied to his scheme, highlighting five wire transmissions associated with the charges. However, Kriisa is not implicated in the broader bribery issues currently afflicting college sports, which involve multiple defendants in a significant Brooklyn betting case.
The landscape of college basketball continues to grapple with issues of point-shaving. An ongoing investigation has implicated over a dozen players across at least 17 teams in similar schemes. Following guilty pleas, lead defendant Jalen Smith's sentencing was postponed to October after his attorneys requested a delay.
On July 29, four other defendants, including three players, are scheduled to change their pleas. One former player, Dyquavion Short, has been accused of fixing three games during the 2024-25 season. Another, Shawn Fulcher, stands accused of performing below his potential in multiple contests during the 2023-24 season and allegedly recruiting others into a match-fixing conspiracy.
In a separate case, a former DraftKings trader from Nevada is facing criminal charges relating to an alleged scheme involving a former Fresno State basketball player. The NCAA banned several players for betting on their own games, including Mykell Robinson, who is accused of collaborating with Steven Vasquez to manipulate wagers prior to one game.
DraftKings trader Samuel Silverman allegedly profited from this scheme, although a company spokesperson stated that he had no responsibilities related to college basketball. Silverman has pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges, and authorities in Nevada are pursuing investigations into several outstanding suspects.
