This was not the most smoothly-executed alleged financial crime you’ll see.
Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon, who was fired from his position Thursday after suspicious betting activity was reported around their game against LSU, was directly communicating with the person who placed the bets in question, according to ESPN.
Sources familiar with the investigation told the outlet that the person who placed the bets was caught on surveillance video communicating with Bohannon while he was at the sportsbook to place the bets.
The bets were placed at the BetMGM Sportsbook at Great American Ball Park in Ohio, the Cincinnati Reds stadium.
The source told ESPN that two large bets were placed on LSU to win the game against Alabama on April 28, which the Tigers did end up winning, 8-6.
Before the game, Alabama’s ace, Luke Holman, was scratched due to what was described as “back tightness” and replaced with Hagan Banks, who had not started a game in over a month.
LSU jumped out to an 8-1 lead against the fill-in pitcher, though Alabama scored four runs in the ninth and almost came all the way back.
Multiple other states besides Ohio were alerted to suspicious betting activity surrounding the game, including Indiana, which quickly halted all wagering on Alabama baseball and refunded bets made on the game.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania also ordered sportsbooks to pull all wagering on Alabama baseball.
Adding to the sloppiness of the scheme, college baseball is one of the least-bet-on sports for all sportsbooks, with large wagers or volume rarely coming in on those events – making it easier for regulators to catch suspicious activity.
FanDuel reported that they had not received a single bet on the game.