MORGANTOWN — Former WVU men’s basketball player Kerr Kriisa waived his rights to appear at a preliminary hearing last week in a federal courtroom in Clarksburg and instead pleaded not guilty to five counts of wire fraud, which cancelled his arraignment hearing.
Kriisa, who played at WVU during the 2023-24 season, and also played at Arizona, Kentucky and Cincinnati, faces federal charges that allege he carried out a scheme to obtain nearly $2.2 million from multiple victims in Monongalia County and elsewhere.
By pleading not guilty, the next step in the case is a plea agreement hearing set for Aug. 18. If no plea agreement can be found, jury selection and the start of Kriisa’s trial is set for Aug. 25 in Judge Thomas S. Kleeh’s courtroom in Clarksburg.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas is prosecuting the case. The government is seeking forfeiture of any and all proceeds traced to the alleged offenses, including a money judgment of approximately $2.2 million.
Kriisa was arrested by federal agents on July 3 after being indicted by a federal grand jury in June.
According to the unsealed indictment, Kriisa is alleged by the Department of Justice to have defrauded two victims of $2.2 million in a scheme dating from 2022 to June 2026.
Kriisa played at WVU during the 2023-24 season, before transferring to Kentucky the following season. He finished his college career this past season at Cincinnati. At WVU, he was suspended by the NCAA for the first nine games of the 2023-24 season due to having received impermissible benefits. Those benefits are not related to the federal case.
According to the indictment, prosecutors allege that beginning in 2022, Kriisa fabricated various identities to ask individuals for financial assistance under false pretenses. In one alleged instance, Kriisa falsely represented to one of his victims that he and his family faced imminent danger if he did not receive money to pay a debt.
The indictment also states that in April 2025, Kriisa allegedly signed a written agreement falsely promising to repay a victim of $100,000 by February 2026.
He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.
