Prosecutors have detailed seven 2023 and 2024 NBA games they say were targets of bettors placing illegal wagers after they allegedly obtained insider information about players and games from people inside the NBA who were then profiting from the bets.
Timeline
Feb. 9, 2023: Lakers v. BucksFormer NBA player Damon Jones, who worked as an “unofficial assistant coach” for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2022-23 NBA season, is accused of leaking private medical information about a player to a bettor who then wagered against the Lakers. Records from the game suggest the player was LeBron James, who was ruled out with an injury. “Get a big bet on Milwaukee Bucks tonight before the information is out! [Player 3] is out tonight,” Jones is accused of texting an unnamed co-conspirator.
March 23, 2023: Hornets v. PelicansProsecutors have accused Terry Rozier, then a Charlotte Hornets player, of telling alleged co-conspirator Deniro Laster he would be pulling himself early from the game due to a “supposed injury.” Laster then sold that information for the promise of reaping $100,000 in gambling winnings from various bettors, who together placed and won more than $160,000 worth of bets on Rozier at several different companies, according to an indictment that was unsealed Thursday. Laster then took the money he made to Rozier’s home, and they “counted the money,” the court document reads.
March 24, 2023: Trail Blazers v. BullsAn unnamed co-conspirator (though the description as an Oregon resident who played in the NBA from 1997 through 2014 and has been an NBA coach since at least 2021 matches Portland head coach Chauncey Billups) is alleged to have told defendant Eric Earnest the Trail Blazers would be throwing their game against the Chicago Bulls in hopes of securing a better draft pick. The co-conspirator also told Earnest several of the team’s best players would sit out, and Earnest allegedly used that non-public information to inform more than $100,000 in bets against the Trail Blazers placed by multiple people.
April 6, 2023: Magic v. CavaliersDefendant Marvis Farley is accused of leveraging a different unnamed co-conspirator’s “personal relationship with one of the Magic’s regularly starting players” to learn the Orlando Magic would not be playing its entire regular starting lineup in the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Farley then placed an $11,000 bet against the Magic, the indictment alleges, and won.
Jan. 15, 2024: Lakers v. ThunderJones allegedly sold medical information about one Lakers player to co-defendant Marves Fairley for $2,500 before a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Fairley then allegedly placed a $100,000 bet against the Lakers. When the information didn’t pan out—and the Lakers won—Failey asked for his money back and Jones promised his information had been credible.
Jan. 26, 2024: Raptors v. Clippers & March 20, 2024: Raptors v. KingsToronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter, who was banned from the NBA last year for a gambling scheme, allegedly promised a bettor he would leave two games early “on the basis of purported injuries” so Fairley, defendant Shane Hennen and others could place bets against his performance, which they later won.
Key Background
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies on Thursday unsealed two indictments against dozens of people, several of which are tied to the NBA, they say participated in illegal gambling schemes. Rozier, Jones and four others are accused of trading insider info to win illegal sports bets. Two of the unnamed co-conspirators in the case are identified as former NBA players and one as a relative of Rozier. The second indictment, which accuses defendants of running rigged poker games involving the Mafia, names Jones and Billups. The pair are accused of helping to lure players to rigged games by promising the chance to play with former professional athletes.
Big Number
Tens of millions of dollars. That’s how much money fraudsters stole running the two scams, FBI Director Kash Patel alleged at a press conference Thursday.
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This story was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
