Update: July 7 at 5:30 p.m.
Former University of Kentucky basketball player Kerr Kriisa appeared in a Lexington court on Tuesday, where he was arraigned on five counts of federal wire fraud.
Kriisa allegedly defrauded two victims out of more than $2 million beginning in August 2022, telling them that him and his family were in imminent danger if they did not send him money to pay a debt. He also allegedly posted as his mother and contacted the victims for funds to pay for her cancer treatments and help save their family's farm.
According to court documents, a judge agreed to Kriisa's release from police custody, but ordered him to surrender his passport and report to the United States Probation Office for supervision. He is also ordered to avoid contact with any witnesses or alleged victims.
Kriissa did not enter a plea during the proceedings.
He is slated to appear in a West Virginia court on July 16.
Original Story:
A former University of Kentucky basketball player is facing federal wire fraud charges after a grand jury indicted him on five counts in the Northern District of West Virginia.
The indictment reports that Kerr Kriisa, who played college basketball at various universities in the United States including UK, was indicted on June 2, on charges of wire fraud.
The indictment alleges Kriisa devised a scheme to defraud victims and obtain money through false and fraudulent pretenses beginning in or about 2022 and continuing through June 2, 2026, with acts committed in Monongalia County, West Virginia, and elsewhere.
According to the indictment, Kriisa falsely represented to victims that he and his family faced imminent danger if they did not send him money to pay a debt. Prosecutors allege he also posed as fictional and real third parties to solicit money from victims.
The indictment details a series of alleged fraudulent acts targeting a first victim beginning in or about August 2022. Prosecutors allege Kriisa falsely told the victim he had obtained a loan to repay her. In or about November 2022, he allegedly told the same victim he intended to sell his organs for money to repay her.
Between 2022 and 2024, Kriisa allegedly posed as his mother and sent emails to the victim requesting money to pay for his mother's alleged cancer treatments and to help save the family's farm, the indictment reads.
On or about April 17, 2025, Kriisa signed a written agreement falsely promising to repay the victim a total of $100,000 by February 2026, according to the indictment.
Further, the indictment details alleged fraudulent acts targeting a second victim beginning in or about November 2025. Prosecutors allege Kriisa posed as a fictional person named and sent emails to the victim requesting money.
Between December 2025 and February 2026, Kriisa allegedly directed the second victim to send money to the first victim based on the false representation that the first victim would then forward the money to him.
The five counts in the indictment each correspond to specific wire communications transmitted between February 1 and February 4, 2026, in Monongalia County.
The government is also seeking forfeiture of at least around $2,200,000 in proceeds traceable to the alleged wire fraud scheme.
