On March 23, 2023, player Terry Rozier left an NBA regular season game after playing only 10 minutes, with the team citing a ‘foot discomfort’ as the reason for his exit. However, according to federal prosecutors, Rozier’s early departure was part of an insider betting scheme. Prosecutors allege that prior to the game, Rozier informed his friend, Deniro Laster, that he would exit early, allowing Laster and others to place hundreds of thousands of dollars in bets on his underperformance for the Charlotte Hornets.
Rozier was arrested in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday morning and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. He is one of dozens of individuals named in two separate indictments targeting illegal gambling, which also include Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups.
The charges span multiple areas, including professional sports, Mafia families, and online wagering, combining traditional card cheating with betting apps and smartphones. Each indictment describes what authorities call a scheme to defraud bettors; one of them raises questions about the integrity of NBA games.
“This is an NBA insider trading saga,” said FBI Director Kash Patel at a press conference on Thursday morning at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn announcing the charges. He was joined in the packed library by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella, and officials from other agencies. Commissioner Tisch stated that one victim lost $1.8 million in a card game.
The insider trading indictment alleges that Rozier and five other defendants used non-public information about NBA players and teams to place fraudulent wagers between December 2022 and March 2024. Authorities state these wagers resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for the bettors.
The second indictment, involving 31 defendants, accuses Billups of participating in illegal poker games organized by Mafia families, which defrauded victims of at least $7 million. Three people are accused of being involved in both schemes, including former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones.
Rozier, 31, is currently in his 11th NBA season and plays for the Miami Heat. He did not participate in the Heat’s season opener in Orlando on Wednesday night. Billups, 49, is in his fifth season coaching in Portland. He is a five-time All-Star who led the Detroit Pistons to the 2004 NBA Championship and was named Finals MVP. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last year.