Gambler linked to SEC baseball scandal sentenced

Bert Neff, an Indiana businessman who federal authorities described as a professional gambler, was sentenced to eight months in prison and three years of supervised release Monday for his role in a betting scandal involving an SEC baseball game in 2023, according to a spokesperson for the United States Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Alabama

Neff pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice charges in March after federal authorities accused him of destroying evidence, tampering with witnesses and providing false statements to the FBI during an investigation into suspicious betting on an Alabama-LSU baseball game on April 28, 2023.

The investigation ultimately led to the firing of then-Crimson Tide baseball coach Brad Bohannon. Multiple sources told ESPN that Neff, after communicating with Bohannon about a lineup change, attempted to bet on LSU to win the game in question. Bohannon, who has not been named in court documents, was terminated by Alabama in early May 2023.

Federal authorities accused Neff in court documents of sharing information from an associate identified as “Individual-1” regarding an injury to the planned starting pitcher. Neff, according to the court documents, shared a screenshot of the messages with multiple associates. Four gamblers connected to Neff also wagered on the game, according to the documents.

Alabama scratched its starting pitcher before the game, which LSU won 8-6.

“Bert Eugene Neff is a professional gambler,” Edward Canter, assistant U.S. attorney, wrote in sentencing memorandum for the case. “Faced with a federal grand jury investigation, he worked to game the system. The defendant destroyed evidence, tampered with witnesses, and provided false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He did not do this once. He did it on dozens of occasions, and he did so for the greater part of a year.”

An attorney listed for Neff did not respond to a request for comment from ESPN.