Louisiana State Police have arrested New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, charging him with a felony count of computer fraud and a misdemeanor for gaming prohibited for persons under 21 for making nearly 9,000 sports wagering bets while at Louisiana State University.
According to a statement from Louisiana State Police, investigators were ed last July by an “online gambling company” regarding wagers made by a prohibited person. The investigation provided details that Boutte placed bets for a 13-month period spanning April 6, 2022, to May 7, 2023, which was his 21st birthday.
Investigators allege that Boutte used an alias to circumvent the 21-year-old minimum age for sports betting in Louisiana, and that he placed more than 8,900 wagers in that span. Investigators claim at least 17 of those wagers were placed on NCAA college football games, with at least six of those bets placed on games involving LSU.
State police issued an arrest warrant Jan. 18 for Boutte, who was booked Thursday on two charges. Authorities said the investigation is ongoing and that more charges could be filed.
The LSU athletic department released a statement Thursday reading:
“In July 2023, LSU was made aware of allegations regarding a former student-athlete’s improper conduct related to sports gambling while enrolled at the University. Since then, we have fully cooperated with all relevant authorities involved in the investigation and will continue to do so. We have no evidence that any other student-athletes participated in these prohibited activities, and we are grateful for measures that detect and discourage sports gambling-related misconduct.”
Allegations of betting on LSU’s game vs. Florida State 1y325k
According to FanDuel‘s compliance team identified an opened with the player name “Tanisha Boutte” in Massachusetts last June with the name “kayshonboutte7.”
The compliance team later identified a second opened in the name of Kayla Fortenberry had the same last four digits of a credit card that was linked to an opened in 2022. That had a name of “Kayshonboutte01.”
This second had more than 300 transactions, including 287 deposits completed between April 6 and Oct. 15, 2022, that originated from a Visa card with a different last four digits. Investigators stated the payer name on that was “Kayshon Boutte,” and based on Boutte’s date of birth being May 7, 2002, any wager he placed in that time span would have been illegal. Authorities later determined Tanisha Boutte is Kayshon Boutte’s birth mother.
FanDuel furnished authorities the complete wagering history of the Fortenberry , which showed 8,927 wagers made from April 6, 2022, to May 17, 2023. Authorities pointed out the 17 wagers made on NCAA football games from Aug. 28, 2022, to Oct. 9, 2023, triggered a notification to the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division, Sports Wagering Unit. They noted the only funding of the Fortenberry from April 6 through Oct. 15, 2022, was the Visa card that listed Kayshon Boutte as the payer name.
Among the 17 bets were six involving LSU game, and two directly involving Boutte. Both of those wagers involved LSU’s game against Florida State on Sept. 4, 2022, one for Boutte as an anytime touchdown scorer and the other with an over/under of 82.5 receiving yards.
The bets were part of an eight-leg parlay and made the day before the game, according to records provided by FanDuel. The GeoComply data for the corresponding wager and five others placed over a span of three hours Sept. 3 pinpointed the location of the bets placed as the LSU Football Operations Center. Authorities were able to determine that Kayla Fortenberry did not have access to controlled areas of the football operations center and that there was no public access to the building at the time that the wagers were placed.
Boutte had two catches for 20 yards in LSU’s 24-23 loss to Florida State played at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Authorities allege more than $635K worth of bets made 282325
Authorities allege that more than $637,000 worth of wagers from 2,979 bets were made through the Fortenberry in 2022 and 2023, with deposits totaling $132,147.53. More than $100,000 in deposits were made in 2022, when 1,520 bets worth $450,969.44 were wagered from that , with $385,597.71 worth of winning wagers. A total of $35,235.80 was withdrawn from the in 2022, with the having a year-ending balance of $331.47.
In 2023, authorities allege 1,459 bets worth $185,568.64 were wagered via the Fortenberry , with $170,65.87 won. A total $15,046.56 was withdrawn during the course of the year, with the balance at the end of 2023 totaling $0.67.
Boutte’s playing background 2z3c4a
From the #Patriots on Kayshon Boutte:
“The New England Patriots are aware that Kayshon Boutte is cooperating with Louisiana police regarding their investigation into an underage gambling charge while he was a student at Louisiana State University. I don’t anticipate that we will…
— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) January 25, 2024
Boutte signed a four-year contract with the Patriots after being selected in the sixth round of the 2023 draft. He appeared in five games as a rookie and totaled two receptions for 19 yards. Boutte had an 11-yard catch in Week 10 versus Indianapolis and an eight-yard reception in Week 12 against the New York Giants.
Boutte started 21 of the 27 games he played at LSU, totaling 131 receptions for 1,782 yards and 16 touchdowns. He had two 100-yard games in 2022 and finished with 48 catches for 538 yards and two TDs. Boutte caught six es for 107 yards and a score in LSU’s 50-30 loss to Georgia in the SEC title game to complete his collegiate career.
He was an all-SEC Freshman in 2020 with 45 catches for a career-high 735 yards and five TDs and had a personal-best nine touchdowns in 2021, when he totaled 38 catches for 509 yards.
