A federal judge on Monday sentenced an Indiana businessman to eight months in prison for his role in an Alabama sports betting scandal.
Bert Neff has an Oct. 29, 2024, deadline to begin his sentence. Prosecutors describe him as a professional gambler who used insider information to leverage bets on the April 28, 2023, Alabama-LSU baseball game. US Attorney Prim Escalona and FBI agent Carlton Peeples told a grand jury that:
- Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon told Neff he planned to scratch his starting pitcher for the April 2023 SEC game due to injury.
- Neff then bet on the game and passed the information on to at least four fellow gamblers. Sportsbooks, LSU, and the betting public didn’t have simultaneous access to information about the pitching change.
Alabama fired Bohannon less than a month later, in early May 2023. In a Feb. 1, 2024, ruling, the NCAA infractions committee determined Bohannon “violated wagering and ethical conduct rules” when the coach used an encrypted messaging app to tell Neff: “(Student-athlete) is out for sure … Lemme know when I can tell (the opposing team) … Hurry.”
The February NCAA announcement credited regulated sportsbooks for reporting the Alabama sports betting scandal:
“Shortly after the bettor received that information, he attempted to place a $100,000 wager on the Alabama game, but sportsbook staff limited him to a $15,000 wager and declined his attempts to place additional bets due to suspicious activity.”
Obstruction of Justice Charge
A day before the NCAA sanctioned Bohannon, Neff reached a Jan. 31 agreement with the Northern District of Alabama to reduce his potential time in prison. Without the agreement, Neff faced up to 10 years in prison for obstruction of justice. Maximum penalties include three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.
From May 2023 to January 2024, prosecutors said Neff:
- Destroyed his cell phone
- Encouraged witnesses to destroy their cell phones and delete encrypted messaging apps
- Provided false statements to federal investigators.
The cover-up peaked in October 2023 when prosecutors said Neff spent 80 minutes on the phone with a pair of witnesses who were scheduled to testify the next day.
Prosecutors wrote in their press release that “all of this activity was designed to interfere with the ongoing grand jury investigation.”
The Case For Legal Alabama Sports Betting
Off-shore, unregulated sportsbooks may also have blocked suspicious bets in the Alabama-LSU game, but illicit companies don’t have the same obligation to share information with states, the industry, or the wagering public about unfair betting activity.
Neff attempted to place bets at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Ohio is a legal sports betting state.
The Alabama state legislature has yet to send a sports betting bill to Gov. Kay Ivey, but the governor supports the concept. The Alabama Legislature next convenes on Feb. 4, 2025.
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