PHILADELPHIA (AP) — In a significant legal development, federal prosecutors have announced charges against 20 individuals, accusing them of orchestrating a complex betting scheme aimed at manipulating the outcomes of NCAA and Chinese Basketball Association games. Among those charged are 15 former college basketball players, who were part of Division 1 NCAA teams as recently as the 2024-25 season.

In addition to these athletes, five other individuals have been implicated as key facilitators of the alleged scheme. These individuals, identified by authorities as “fixers,” include two men involved in the training and development of basketball talent, a trainer who also has a background in coaching, a former NCAA player, and two people recognized as gamblers, influencers, and sports handicappers.

The charges, which have been formalized in a federal court in Philadelphia, include allegations of wire fraud, underscoring the gravity and sophistication of the alleged activities. This case sheds light on the ongoing challenges of maintaining integrity in sports, highlighting the vulnerability of even high-level competition to external influences.

They include two men who prosecutors say worked in the training and development of basketball players. Another was a trainer and former coach, one was a former NCAA player and two were described as gamblers, influencers and sports handicappers.

The charges, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, include wire fraud.

In the 70-page indictment, authorities say the fixers recruited the college basketball players with “bribe payments” usually ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game.

The indictment follows a series of NCAA investigations that led to at least 10 players receiving lifetime bans this year for bets that sometimes involved their own teams and their own performances. And the NCAA has said that at least 30 players have been investigated over gambling allegations.

More than 30 people were also charged in last year’s sprawling federal takedown of illegal gambling operations linked to professional basketball.

Concerns about gambling and college sports have grown since 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on the practice, leading some states to legalize it to varying degrees. The NCAA does not allow athletes or staff to bet on college games, but it briefly allowed student-athletes to bet on professional sports last year before rescinding that decision in November.

More broadly, one betting scandal after another has rocked the sports world, where gambling revenue topped $11 billion for the first three-quarters of last year, according to the American Gaming Association. That’s up more than 13% from the prior year, the group said.