Former NBA players Malik Beasley and Ed Davis were among six indicted for alleged sports betting schemes.
The indictment, unsealed Monday in the Eastern District of New York, alleges that Beasley was bribed “to fix his performance in multiple games in order to place fraudulent wagers, enrich themselves and cheat legitimate sportsbooks,” U.S. Atty. Gen. Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a release.
The pending charges for the then Milwaukee Bucks teammates include bribery in sporting contests, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, honest services wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Beasley’s investigation began last year and was confirmed last June by his attorney.
Three unspecified betting companies are also listed in the indictment, but two of them appear to be DraftKings and FanDuel. The indictment notes “betting company 1” and “betting company 2” have been “the co-official sports betting partners of the NBA” since 2021.
Alleged illegal sports betting schemes are nothing new to the NBA in recent years. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier pled not guilty in December over allegations that he also underperformed for betting purposes while former Toronto Raptor Jontay Porter was banned from the league for life in April 2024 for suspicious betting activity.
Latest NBA sports betting scheme details
According to the indictment, the six co-defendants ran the betting scheme between December 2023 and April 2024. Beasley would let Davis, known as Beasley’s “gatekeeper,” know in which games Beasley planned to underperform and sometimes overperform.
In return, Beasley would get bribes that typically went toward paying off any debts Beasley had with Davis.
The indictment details four games where Beasley allegedly informed his co-conspirators of his plans to overperform or underperform on certain statistics.
The fourth game detailed, a game between the Bucks and Brooklyn Nets on March 21, 2024, led to the end of the scheme when bets on Beasley’s under rebounds prop lost. One co-conspirator demanded Davis repay him or Beasley fix a future game, but Davis backtracked on agreeing to another fixed game as Jontay Porter was under investigation for his betting scheme.
What the feds are saying
Nocella thanked FBI field offices in Charlotte, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Omaha for their assistance in the case.
“As alleged, the defendants turned professional basketball into a criminal betting operation, bribing then-NBA player Malik Beasley to fix his performance in multiple games in order to place fraudulent wagers, enrich themselves and cheat legitimate sportsbooks,” Nocella said. “Bribery and insider betting schemes like this one involving former NBA players and a current NBA player agent who exploited inside NBA information for profit erode the integrity of American sports and victimize the sports-watching public. Our Office will continue in its strong tradition of holding accountable anyone who seeks to corrupt sports through illegal means.”
James Barnacle Jr., the FBI’s assistant director in charge of the investigation, noted the ring attempted to win hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“These defendants allegedly operated an illegal betting ring in an attempt to unlawfully earn hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Barnacle said. “As alleged, Malik Beasley allowed himself to be bought and altered his gametime performance to line pockets of Ed Davis and his other co-conspirators.
“The FBI continues to dismantle fraudulent schemes that erode the integrity of any institution, including our nation’s professional sports leagues.”
