CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — A former college basketball player, Kerr Kriisa, has been indicted for allegedly running a fraudulent scheme that led to him obtaining nearly $2.2 million from two victims through lies and deception. The federal grand jury's indictment was made public following Kriisa's arrest by federal agents in Kentucky last Saturday.
Kriisa, a 25-year-old former player who originally began his college basketball career in 2020 at the University of Arizona, gained recognition as a 6-foot-3 guard known for his feistiness and ability to shoot from long distances. After his tenure at Arizona, Kriisa transferred to West Virginia but was suspended for the first nine games of his single season due to admitting he received impermissible benefits while at Arizona. In 2024, he transferred to Kentucky but faced limitations due to a foot injury, later moving to Cincinnati for his final year where he started 12 games before suffering a separated shoulder in February.
The charges against Kriisa include five counts of wire fraud. According to U.S. Attorney Matthew Harvey, financial fraud schemes undermine trust and inflict real damage on victims who believed they were assisting someone in need.
The indictment details that from 2022 until June 2, 2025, Kriisa engaged in a series of deceitful actions, posing as his own mother and falsely claiming that both he and his family were in dire need of funds to address an emergency situation. He allegedly informed one victim in August 2022 that he had taken out a loan to repay her, and a few months later made an outlandish claim about his intentions to sell his organs to settle the debt. Between 2022 and 2024, he continued to contact the same victim under the guise of his mother, rationalizing the need for money for her supposed cancer treatments and to rescue the family farm.
Furthermore, in April 2025, Kriisa reportedly signed a written agreement that falsely assured the victim he would repay $100,000 by February 2026. His deceitful behavior extended to another victim from November 2025 to early February of this year, during which he repeatedly solicited funds while posing as a fictitious individual named "Irene."
As the case against Kriisa unfolds, it highlights the severe implications of financial fraud, particularly in how it can exploit the trust of individuals seeking to help perceived family or friends in distress. Kriisa is expected to make an appearance in federal court this week, where the legal proceedings against him will likely begin to reveal more details about the extent of his alleged fraudulent activities.
