NEW YORK – Federal prosecutors have intensified their case against former NBA guard Terry Rozier, levelling additional charges related to an alleged sports betting and bribery scheme.
A superseding indictment filed in federal court in Brooklyn has hit the 32-year-old with new counts of bribery in sporting contests and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. The updated government filing explicitly names the NBA and the Charlotte Hornets — the franchise Rozier played for at the time of the alleged offences — as victims of the conspiracy.
The allegations claim that Rozier agreed to accept a $100,000 bribe to deliberately manipulate his performance during a 2022–23 NBA regular-season game. According to the indictment, Rozier planned to use a legitimate lingering lower-leg injury as a convenient pretext to remove himself early from a March 23, 2023, matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Prosecutors state that Rozier informed his co-defendant, Deniro Laster, of his intention to exit the game prematurely. Laster allegedly passed this insider information to a network of gamblers, who subsequently placed more than $258,700 in wagers on the “under” lines for Rozier’s various prop bet statistics, including points, assists, and rebounds.
During the game in question, Rozier logged just over nine minutes of action before checking out permanently. He finished the night with five points, two assists, and four rebounds. While the early exit ensured that most of the gamblers’ under wagers were successful, Rozier’s four rebounds caused a small portion of the bets to lose. The indictment alleges that because the plan was not entirely successful, Rozier and his co-conspirators negotiated a reduced bribe after the game, lowering his payout from $100,000 to approximately $70,000.
Rozier, who has been sidelined from playing this season while free on a $3 million bond, has steadfastly denied any involvement in the scheme. His defence attorney, Jim Trusty of Ifrah Law, previously filed a motion to dismiss the case in December, arguing that the government’s legal theories exceeded the scope of federal statutes.
“The superseding indictment just confirms that our motion to dismiss was righteous — new charges, new theories, but all just a sad effort to make something stick,” Trusty told reporters.
A spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York declined to comment on the active litigation.
The legal pressure on Rozier comes amid rapid developments in the broader investigation. The former guard was initially one of several individuals indicted in a massive federal sports-rigging and money-laundering case. On the same day Rozier’s new charges were announced, co-defendant and prominent sports betting influencer Maves Fairley pleaded guilty to conspiracy and bribery charges, admitting to using insider information to gain an illicit edge on basketball wagers.
Furthermore, former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones has also pleaded guilty to his role in the operation.
The unfolding scandal highlights a growing vulnerability within the multibillion-dollar legal sports betting industry, particularly regarding prop bets tied to individual player performance metrics. Federal authorities have described the operation as one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since the widespread legalisation of online sports wagering in the United States.
The case echoes other high-profile sports betting scandals that have rocked professional leagues. Most notably, former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter received a lifetime ban from the NBA and later pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges after a nearly identical scheme came to light. In Porter’s case, he similarly disclosed confidential health information to bettors and removed himself early from games to ensure that “under” prop bets would cash.
Beyond the NBA, other sports leagues have also dealt with the fallout from the gambling boom, including the high-profile federal investigation involving Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani. Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud charges after stealing millions of dollars to cover illegal gambling debts.
For Rozier, the off-court fallout has already been significant. After being traded from Charlotte to the Miami Heat, the guard was waived by Miami and remains an unsigned free agent as his legal battle continues in federal court.
