The FBI arrested former college basketball player Kerr Kriisa for allegedly being part of a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme. The 25-year-old played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats, the West Virginia Mountaineers, the Kentucky Wildcats and the Cincinnati Bearcats.
FBI agents arrested Kriisa on July 3, according to WKYT News, and they held him at least initially at the Fayette County Detention Center in Lexington, Kentucky.
The fraud scheme allegedly started during Kriisa’s 2023-24 season while playing at West Virginia. KSR reports that authorities expect to extradite him to West Virginia, with a court hearing scheduled for next week.
Kerr Kriisa’s basketball career took many twists
LaFamilia recently announced Kerr Kriisa as a new addition to The Basketball Tournament. He was supposed to make his debut in a best-of-three series against The Ville, a Louisville alumni squad, beginning on July 18 at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington. That is no longer the case.
“We’re aware of the allegations regarding Kerr Kriisa,” LaFamilia wrote on X. “Kerr will not be competing with La Familia during the TBT Tournament. We will have no further comment.”
Kriisa played his first three years of college basketball at Arizona and, as a junior, averaged 9.9 points, 5.1 asssists and 2.4 rebounds per game. He led the Pac-12 in assists at 5.14 per game and tied for the team lead with 83 made 3-pointers that season.
He then played for West Virginia after serving a nine-game suspension for receiving impermissible benefits at the University of Arizona. While there, he averaged 11.0 points, 4.7 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game.
Kerr Kriisa then transferred to Kentucky for one season before again transferring to Cincinnati, where he finished his six-year college basketball career.
He was supposed to begin his professional basketball career in Estonia, his home country, with Tartu Ulikool Maks & Moorits, but his arrest now seems to have jeopardized that move.