Varez Ward, a former Auburn men's basketball player has been charged with two federal counts for attempting to fix games and bribing his teammates during the 2011-12 season.
Ward is scheduled to appear in court Thursday in Montgomery
Ward is alleged to have devised a plot with others to persuade one or more individuals to influence an Auburn game against Arkansas, Jan. 25, 2012. He offered to pay teammates to participate in point-spread betting.
The one-page indictment document did not reveal suspected co-conspirators. If convicted, Ward could face up to five years in prison on each of the two counts, a fine of $250,000 and supervised release of three years once he finishes his jail term.
Ward just played for 19 seconds against Arkansas before injuring his leg when going in for a layup. Auburn lost to Arkansas, 56-33, and failed to cover the point-spread, earlier decided on by the fixers. Prosecutors said that Auburn still covered the 9 1/2-point spread.
"Watching sports should be entertaining," U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama George L. Beck Jr. said in a statement. "We want the outcome of the game to be based on talent and hard work, not some off-field, back-room deal. Fixing games not only hurts teammates, but hurts the fans and all viewing public."
In March 2012, Ward, a sophomore point guard on the Tigers men's basketball team, was reported to be the primary suspect in an FBI point-shaving investigation.
A Montgomery native, Ward and guard Chris Denson were immediately suspended from the team when a player raised concerns with an assistant coach before a home game against Arkansas, Feb. 25. The NCAA, SEC and FBI collaborated together to look into the possible allegations. Denson was reinstated Feb. 29 after he was found not guilty by investigators.
Auburn's 68-50 loss to Alabama, Feb. 7, 2012, was also suspected to be result of a point spread fixing. But the indictment only concerns Ward's involvement "from an unknown date, up to, on or about January 25, 2012."
Ward was considered to be their strike player after he scored a combined 53 points in 87 minutes in the three games between Auburn's loss to Arkansas and Alabama.
