Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Former West Virginia basketball guard Kerr Kriisa was arrested by the FBI on Saturday on federal fraud charges.
On Monday afternoon, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia, Matthew L. Harvey, officially announced that Kriisa has been charged with defrauding victims.
The former Mountaineer lied and posed as other people as part of a scheme through which he fraudulently obtained nearly $2.2 million from two victims, according to a federal indictment.
In one email, Kriisa posed as his own mother and falsely claimed money was needed for cancer treatments. He also claimed that he needed the money to help save his family’s farm.
According to the indictment, Kriisa signed a written agreement in April 2025 promising to repay the victim $100,000 by February 2026.
In some of the exchanges from November 2025 until early this year, the Estonia native posed as a fictional character named “Irene” and asked a second victim for money on numerous occasions.
According to Harvey, Kriisa will appear in federal court this week on five counts of wire fraud.
“Financial fraud schemes erode trust and cause real harm to victims who believed they were helping someone in need,” Harvey said in a press release. “Our office will continue to pursue individuals who exploit others through deception. We are committed to holding them accountable for their actions.”
Kriisa spent one season at WVU after beginning his career at Arizona. He later transferred to Kentucky before finishing his collegiate career at Cincinnati last season.
During his lone season with the Mountaineers, Kriisa missed the first nine games of the team’s 9-23 season after admitting to receiving impermissible benefits while at Arizona. He averaged a career-high 11.0 points, 4.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game while shooting 42 percent from the field and 42percent from 3-point range.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas is prosecuting the case, which is still under investigation by the FBI.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
