Former DraftKings Trader Charged in Fresno State Basketball Betting Scheme

Nevada authorities have filed felony charges against a former sports trader inside DraftKings' Las Vegas office, tying him to a betting operation built around a Fresno State basketball player's on-court performance.  

According to a report obtained by ESPN, Samuel Silverman was taken into custody on May 5 and now faces two counts: committing a fraudulent act inside a gaming establishment and conspiring to cheat at a gambling game. Both carry a possible sentence of 1 to 5 years in prison. Silverman has entered a not guilty plea. 

Records from the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), which oversees the Nevada sports betting market, lay out how the scheme unfolded around a Jan. 7, 2025, contest between Fresno State and Colorado State, in which forward Mykell Robinson allegedly played below his usual level so that a parlay wager tied to his statistics would cash.  

Investigators traced roughly $200 that Robinson's mother sent toward the bet, which produced a payout later split among four people connected to the plot.  

According to the board's accounting, Silverman's colleague and roommate, Matthew Martin, walked away with the largest share at $11,325, while Silverman kept $3,000, and Robinson received $1,425 through a former teammate, Steven Vasquez, who served as a go-between. 

Both Robinson and Vasquez permanently lost their NCAA eligibility last September after the association concluded they had violated its gambling rules. DraftKings told investigators that Silverman and Martin had no authority over college basketball odds and said an internal review found no indication that company data influenced the outcome.  

Gaming regulators noted that other suspects tied to the case have not yet been charged and that the investigation remains active. 

Beasley and Davis face federal charges in NBA betting case 

Fresno State's betting scandal is far from an isolated incident. A federal indictment unsealed in June has ensnared two more former professional athletes, Malik Beasley and Ed Davis, accused of steering NBA outcomes to benefit outside bettors. 

According to prosecutors, Beasley worked out an arrangement with Davis during his 2023-24 season with the Milwaukee Bucks in which he would intentionally push his rebound or scoring numbers above or below the lines sportsbooks had set, depending on what the pair had agreed upon beforehand.  

The government says the payoff for Beasley came in the form of debt relief, since he owed Davis a substantial sum from loans tied to his gambling losses.  

Four games appear in the indictment as targets of the alleged scheme, matchups against Cleveland, Charlotte, the Los Angeles Clippers, and Brooklyn spread across the first months of 2024. 

Six people total were charged in the indictment, among them agent Paolo Zamorano, who represented Davis at the time. Beasley and Zamorano have since entered not guilty pleas and remain free on bond ahead of an August 6 court date, while Davis and two other co-defendants were taken into custody when the charges became public.