As sports betting scandals continue to swirl in professional and amateur sports, federal prosecutors are peeling back the curtain on even more NBA games.
Lawyers for the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York indicated they were investigating more NBA games than the ones that implicated Terry Rozier and Jontay Porter, The Athletic reported.
Key Takeaways
- Porter was the first player who was charged with a major betting scandal in the NBA, and he was banned for life.
- Former Pistons guard Malik Beasley is currently under investigation.
- Federal officials did not provide information on who their investigations involve.
While federal officials have put the NBA back under the microscope, they did not provide any information on which games, teams, or individuals are under investigation.
“The government has ongoing investigations,” David Berman, an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, said in court last week. “And our understanding is the defendant has conducted himself in similar manners in other instances as well.”
Rozier, a guard for the Miami Heat, and five others were arrested for their involvement in the sports betting scandal. At the time, investigators noted that Rozier only played one part in a trading ring rife with privileged information and access that allowed gamblers to illicitly profit from wagering on games.
Rozier was charged in October due to an incident that occurred when he played for the Charlotte Hornets. According to prosecutors, he told a friend in March 2023 that he would exit a game early, allowing the friend to profit by betting the under on his prop lines. The friend sold the information to bettors, who bet the under on his points, rebounds, assists, and threes lines.
Rozier and the other defendants pleaded not guilty. St. John’s men’s basketball coach and Rozier’s former coach at Louisville, Rick Pitino, said that the accusations represented behavior that was “not like him.”
Porter was accused of the same crime of prematurely withdrawing himself from games for the benefit of sports bettors twice during the 2023-24 NBA season. He pleaded guilty in July 2024 and is awaiting sentencing, although he already received a lifetime ban from the NBA.
Four other men were arrested for facilitating the operation and betting on Porter. Three pleaded guilty.
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Basketball scandals pile up
On top of the Rozier and Porter scandals, former Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley is still under federal investigation for possible involvement in illegal sports gambling. Beasley was expected to sign a three-year, $42 million deal with the Pistons during the summer free agency period, but that was scrapped when news of the investigation broke.
Beasley is still a free agent.
“To my understanding, he’s still under federal investigation but there’s been no recent direction on what terms they’re looking at him,” Beasley’s attorney Steve Haney told The Athletic. “At this point, Malik is stuck in this investigative purgatory and unable to continue his career despite the fact that he’s been under investigation for over a year.”
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was also arrested, but for a much different reason. Billups was one of 31 people who were arrested for allegedly running a rigged card game ring.
Billups, a former NBA champion and Finals MVP, was used as a celebrity participant to attract players. He pleaded not guilty to wrongdoing in the scandal, which allegedly involved marked cards, fake shuffling machines, and members of the mafia.
A few of the men who were charged were also indicted earlier this month amid an investigation into point-shaving in college basketball. After starting with the Chinese Basketball Association in 2022, conspirators allegedly offered $10,000-30,000 to players at small-conference schools to underperform through February 2025.
Sentencing begins
While investigations and court proceedings are still ongoing, one man was already sentenced.
Timothy McCormack, who bet on games that both Porter and Rozier allegedly rigged, was sentenced to two years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
