Former DraftKings Trader Charged With Felony in Fresno State Basketball Prop-Bet Fixing Scheme

What Are the Charges Against the Former DraftKings Trader?

Samuel Silverman, a former sportsbook trader at DraftKings, has been charged with two Class C felonies in Nevada after his arrest in Las Vegas on May 5, 2026. He faces charges of committing a fraudulent act in a gaming establishment and conspiracy to cheat at a gambling game, both arising from an alleged scheme to manipulate individual player statistics during a Fresno State college basketball game played on January 7, 2025. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on August 4, 2026.

Updated July 2026. The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) concluded its investigation in June 2026 and confirmed that additional suspects remain under investigation beyond Silverman. A second former DraftKings sports trader, Matthew Martin, is alleged to have placed the actual wagers at the centre of the scheme but has not been publicly charged as of the date of publication.

Key Facts at a Glance

• Defendant: Samuel Silverman, former DraftKings sportsbook trader, Las Vegas office.
• Charges: Two Class C felonies under Nevada law, commission of a fraudulent act in a gaming establishment and conspiracy to cheat at a gambling game.
• Arrest date: May 5, 2026; preliminary hearing scheduled August 4, 2026.
• Target game: Fresno State vs Colorado State, January 7, 2025.
• Total amount wagered: $2,200 in same-game parlays placed by alleged co-conspirator Matthew Martin.
• Total winnings: approximately $15,950.
• College player involved: Mykell Robinson, Fresno State guard, who received $1,425 from the proceeds.
• NCAA sanctions: Robinson, Steven Vasquez, and Jalen Weaver all received permanent ineligibility bans in September 2025.
• Silverman's connection to the program: he previously served as manager for Fresno State's men's basketball team.

How Did the Alleged Scheme Work?

According to investigators, the scheme followed a structure that has become a pattern in similar college sports integrity cases: a betting industry insider with access to player proposition markets coordinated with a player to deliberately underperform against his statistical projections, enabling the conspirators to profit from pre-placed "under" bets on those lines.

On January 7, 2025, Martin allegedly placed three same-game parlays totalling $2,200 through BetMGM, wagering on Fresno State guard Mykell Robinson to finish below his posted lines in points, rebounds, assists, and three-pointers. Robinson played only 21 minutes in the game, posting three points, two rebounds, and no assists. The parlays converted and generated approximately $15,950 in winnings.

The alleged proceeds were then distributed among the participants: Martin received $11,325, Silverman received $3,000, Robinson received $1,425, and Robinson's teammate Steven Vasquez received $200. A third unnamed party was also alleged to have been involved.

Silverman's prior role as a team manager for the Fresno State men's basketball programme, before his employment at DraftKings, gave him established connections to players and staff that investigators believe facilitated the coordination.

What Did DraftKings Say?

DraftKings confirmed that both Silverman and Martin had been employed as sports traders in its Las Vegas office during the 2024 to 2025 period. The company emphasised that neither individual held responsibility for setting college basketball odds or proposition lines, positioning their roles as execution-side rather than odds-making positions. It stated: "We strongly condemn the alleged conduct of these former employees and remain committed to protecting the integrity of sports and sports betting." Both individuals no longer work for the company.

The company noted that the suspicious wagers were not placed through DraftKings' platform but through BetMGM, which would have been consistent with traders at one operator seeking to avoid internal detection systems while still exploiting their knowledge of how proposition betting markets work.

What Actions Did the NCAA Take?

The NCAA conducted its own investigation in September 2025, before the Nevada Gaming Control Board concluded the criminal probe. The governing body found that Robinson had violated NCAA rules by coordinating wagers on his own individual statistical performance and by deliberately underperforming to ensure those wagers converted. Robinson, Vasquez, and a third player, Jalen Weaver, who was found to have exchanged player-prop information with bettors, all received permanent ineligibility from NCAA competition.

The Robinson case sits within a broader pattern that the NCAA has been raising with state regulators and sportsbook operators. The governing body has repeatedly argued that college player proposition bets represent "the greatest integrity risks" in legal sports wagering because individual athletes can influence their own statistical outcomes, such as points scored, rebounds, or minutes played, without necessarily affecting the final result of the game. The NCAA has formally urged regulators in multiple states and sportsbook operators to eliminate college player prop betting entirely.

Why Is the College Prop-Bet Integrity Problem So Difficult to Solve?

The Fresno State case illustrates several structural features that make college player prop betting particularly vulnerable to manipulation. First, the statistical thresholds being wagered on are entirely within an individual athlete's control. A player who knows which bets are in play can manage their effort, shot selection, or positioning in ways that are difficult for coaches, officials, or broadcast viewers to detect as intentional.

Second, the amounts involved are small enough to escape the most visible level of oversight. A $2,200 total wager spread across three parlays at a single platform is not the kind of volume that automatically triggers alert thresholds, particularly at a platform other than the one where the trader works.

Third, the lines between sports knowledge and insider information blur significantly in college basketball, where player prop lines are set with less public data than professional sports. A former team manager who became a trading professional retains relationships and informal information channels that licensed operators have no obvious mechanism to detect or restrict.

How Does This Case Fit Into the Broader Integrity Picture?

The Silverman case is not isolated. The Nevada Gaming Control Board's statement that additional suspects remain under investigation, combined with what investigators described as "related cases involving point-shaving schemes across multiple colleges," suggests that the structural vulnerabilities in college player prop markets have been exploited more widely than any single case reveals.

Since the Supreme Court's 2018 ruling in Murphy v. NCAA opened the door to state-level sports betting legalisation, the volume and variety of college basketball proposition bets have expanded dramatically. Most major sportsbooks now offer extensive player prop menus for college games, and the combination of accessible legal wagering, social media networks connecting athletes to bettors, and the financial pressures on unpaid college athletes has created the conditions that integrity advocates warned about when player props for college sports were first introduced.

Several states have since moved to restrict or ban player proposition bets on college athletes. New Jersey, one of the most influential sports betting jurisdictions, prohibited college player props in 2023. Other states have followed or are considering similar restrictions, and cases like the Fresno State scheme are regularly cited as justification.

Individual	Role	Outcome
Samuel Silverman	Former DraftKings trader / ex-Fresno State team manager	Arrested May 5, 2026; two Class C felony charges; preliminary hearing August 4
Matthew Martin	Former DraftKings sports trader; placed the wagers	Not publicly charged as of July 2026; under investigation
Mykell Robinson	Fresno State guard; deliberately underperformed	Permanently banned by NCAA (September 2025); received $1,425
Steven Vasquez	Robinson's Fresno State teammate; coordinated bets	Permanently banned by NCAA; received $200
Jalen Weaver	Former Fresno State player; shared player-prop information	Permanently banned by NCAA

What Happens Next in the Silverman Case?

Silverman faces a preliminary hearing in Nevada on August 4, 2026, at which prosecutors must establish probable cause to proceed to trial. His attorney, Michael D. Pariente, has indicated the defence intends to contest the charges vigorously, stating: "We will present a vigorous defense of Mr. Silverman in a court of law based on evidence and facts, not in the court of public opinion, polluted by bias, speculation, and rumor."

If convicted on both Class C felony counts in Nevada, Silverman could face prison sentences of one to five years per count under state law, though sentencing outcomes in gaming fraud cases have historically varied widely depending on the scale of the scheme and the degree of cooperation provided to prosecutors.

The NGCB's confirmation that additional suspects remain under active investigation suggests that charges beyond Silverman are possible, and the broader pattern of similar schemes at other colleges indicates that prosecutors are building a more comprehensive picture of how insider information from trading professionals has been used to exploit college player proposition markets.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Samuel Silverman?

Samuel Silverman is a former DraftKings sportsbook trader who previously served as a manager for the Fresno State men's basketball team. He was arrested in Las Vegas on May 5, 2026, and faces two Class C felony charges related to an alleged scheme to fix player proposition bets on a January 2025 Fresno State basketball game.

What is the Fresno State betting scheme?

The scheme involved coordinating with Fresno State basketball player Mykell Robinson to deliberately underperform his statistical projection in a January 7, 2025 game against Colorado State, while former DraftKings trader Matthew Martin placed $2,200 in same-game parlay bets on Robinson's "unders." The bets returned $15,950, which was split among the conspirators.

What happened to the Fresno State players involved?

Mykell Robinson, Steven Vasquez, and Jalen Weaver all received permanent NCAA ineligibility bans in September 2025 for their roles in either deliberately underperforming, coordinating bets, or sharing player-prop information with bettors.

Why are college player prop bets a risk for sports integrity?

Individual athletes can influence their own statistical outcomes without necessarily affecting game results, making prop bets on their personal performance easier to manipulate than whole-game outcomes. The NCAA has called college player props "the greatest integrity risk" in legal sports wagering and has urged states to restrict or eliminate them.

When is Samuel Silverman's next court date?

Silverman is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on August 4, 2026, at which prosecutors must establish probable cause to proceed to trial on the two Class C felony charges.