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Cedquavious “Dae Dae” Hunter admitted to point shaving while playing basketball for the University of New Orleans, claiming he participated in the scheme to make money for his newborn baby.
Hunter spoke in an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America and said he was “money hungry” after having his first child. He stated, “I just had a child, so the school wasn’t paying me money, so I was trying to get money to actually take care of my child.”
The NCAA banned Hunter for life last week, along with teammates Dyquavian Short and Jamond Vincent. Three more players, Donovan Sanders, Alvin Stredic (Mississippi Valley), and Chatton “BJ” Freeman (Arizona State) were also banned.
Text messages revealed he was paid $5,000 to fix a game on January 20 this year against Northwestern State. In messages with Short, Hunter said he would spend the money the next day shopping at Sak’s Fifth Avenue.
The NCAA found that Hunter, Short, and Vincent manipulated the results of at least seven games between December and January last season. The games involved were as follows:
Some of the games appeared to have focused on the half-time result, the point spread, or on individual prop bets. Hunter averaged 8.2 points a game before UNO suspended him over the point-shaving allegations.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania informed ESPN that the FBI has been conducting interviews with college athletes and anticipates issuing indictments. In addition to New Orleans’ matches, the sources said they have seen evidence of plots to fix games involving Eastern Michigan, Temple, North Carolina A&T, and Mississippi Valley State.
Hunter originally denied allegations that he was involved in point shaving. In the interview, he said, “I was trying to lie because I thought I would get my way out of it.”
His X account still has a post from April stating, “Still available.. false accusations that were held against me is not true”.
The NCAA stated that he provided false and misleading information on two occasions in February and April to both UNO and NCAA enforcement staff. He denied having any contact with individuals who inquired or asked questions about upcoming games and predictions.
However, investigators found a contact labelled as “Money” on Short’s phone and discovered that both he and Hunter had FaceTime calls with the individual. Short claimed he was his cousin, but an email account was traced to a known bettor.
The “known bettor” mentioned by the NCAA has not been publicly identified. Previously, a Caesars Sportsbook representative named Marves Fairley as “the main syndicate suspect,” noting that the online tipster has been banned from betting companywide. Fairley allegedly placed suspicious bets at Harrah’s Gulf Coast that led to his ban. Both he and Hunter are from Mississippi.
Fairley has been indicted along with NBA player Terry Rozier and coaches Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones. Prosecutors allege he paid associates for insider information about lineups. This includes games involving the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, and Charlotte Hornets.
The tipster, who runs the subscription service Vezino Locks, previously denied betting on the college games flagged as suspicious, stating that he only sells picks.
In an Instagram video posted earlier this year, he said the allegations against him were false, stating, “I think it’s just the media. It’s just somebody that’s writing articles and details about me that don’t know me personally. I think it comes with success. I think the more you level up in life, the more angles they come to bring you down.”
Fairley was released on bail after pleading not guilty to the charges in the NBA case. Despite the charges, Vezino Locks continues to sell picks at $60 per day.
