Former college basketball guard Kerr Kriisa, a 6‑foot‑3 Estonian who played at Arizona before stints at West Virginia, Kentucky and Cincinnati, now faces federal charges after investigators say he duped two victims out of more than two million dollars.
The Indictment
A federal grand jury in West Virginia charged Kriisa with five counts of wire fraud, alleging that he fabricated emergencies and falsely promised repayments to secure the money.
A Web of False Identities
According to the indictment, Kriisa pretended to be his own mother and created a fictitious online persona named "Irene" to manipulate his victims. He even told one woman he intended to sell his organs to repay her, a claim that added a disturbing layer of deception.
Legal Proceedings
Kriisa was arrested in Kentucky and is expected to appear in federal court in West Virginia later this week, where prosecutors plan to outline the full scope of the scheme.
The case highlights how a former athlete’s public profile can be weaponized to gain trust, allowing the fraud to unfold over an extended period before law enforcement intervened.