Indictment alleges Kerr Kriisa ran $2.2 million fraud scheme

Kerr Kriisa used impersonation, fabricated identities and emergency pleas to pull nearly $2.2 million from multiple victims in a scheme that ran from 2022 through June 2, 2026.

The 25-year-old Estonian national posed as fictional contacts and family members, claimed he and his family were in danger, and told victims his mother needed cancer treatment or that family property required urgent financial support. He repeatedly asked for money from two victims and, at times, directed one to send money to the other under false pretenses, a pattern that relied on personal familiarity and manufactured urgency rather than a one-time request.

In one thread of the case, Kriisa told a victim in August 2022 that he had gotten a loan to repay her, then later said he would sell his organs to get the money. Between 2022 and 2024, he contacted the same victim while posing as his own mother and asked for money to cover cancer treatment and save the family farm. In April 2025, he signed a written agreement promising to repay one victim $100,000 by February 2026, a fraudulent promise.

From November 2025 through early February 2026, Kriisa pressed a second victim for money, at times posing as a made-up person named Irene. The government is seeking forfeiture of proceeds traceable to the alleged offenses, including a money judgment of about $2.2 million.

Kriisa was arrested by federal agents on Saturday, July 5, 2026, in Kentucky, and the case was unsealed Monday, July 6, 2026. He is expected to appear in federal court in West Virginia this week on five counts of wire fraud. The FBI is investigating, and U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey said financial fraud schemes erode trust and cause real harm to victims who believed they were helping someone in need.

Kriisa's basketball career took him through Arizona, West Virginia, Kentucky and Cincinnati over six seasons. He played last season at Cincinnati, where he averaged 5.8 points and 3.0 assists before a separated shoulder ended his 2025-26 season.