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The Justice Department listed seven games in which high-risk bets were placed after non-public information was revealed to players.
Terry Rozier, the DOJ says, was directly involved in one of them, while Damon Jones is said to have tipped off two Los Angeles Lakers games when he was the team’s assistant coach.
Rozier’s alleged involvement came about through a game on March 23, 2023, when he told childhood friend Deniro Laster that he was leaving the game early, citing an injury, so Laster could make bets based on the information. Neither Hornets management nor betting companies were informed of Rozier’s scheme, according to the indictment, and Rozier was not listed on the team’s injury report.
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General view of the Charlotte Hornets as Mr. Kim sings the National Anthem before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Terry Rozier played only nine minutes in this game. (Stephen Lew/USA Today Sports)
Laster then allegedly sold that information to other co-conspirators, and numerous people placed bets totaling approximately $200,000 on Rozier’s “under” bets to hit both parlay bets and straight bets. After Rozier played only nine minutes and never returned, the bets won. Rozier and Laster counted the cash winnings at Rozier’s Charlotte home about a week later, the indictment says.
As for Jones, he allegedly told someone close to him that a “prominent” Lakers player would not be playing on Feb. 9, 2023, before the information became public.
“Make a big bet on [the] milwaukee [Bucks] tonight before the information comes out! [Player 3] comes out tonight. Bet enough so Djones can eat [sic] “Now!!!” Jones allegedly texted a friend.
The Justice Department says the player was ultimately ruled out with a lower-body injury: LeBron James did not play that night due to an ankle injury that kept him out for two more games. The game in question took place two days after James scored 38 points to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
LeBron James (23) talks with Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue (not pictured) and former teammate Damon Jones, center, during a free practice before the Golden State Warriors played the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Tuesday, Ohio, June 2017. (Carlos Ávila González/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
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Jones also gave apparent inside information on another “one of the Lakers’ best players” 11 months later regarding an injury that would likely affect his performance, which ultimately backfired as the player “performed well” and the Lakers won.
Another game the Justice Department mentioned was a matchup between the Portland Trail Blazers and Chicago Bulls on March 24, 2023, the day after Rozier played nine minutes, where an accomplice, “an NBA coach at the time,” allegedly told an old friend, who is also a defendant in the rigged poker scheme, that the Blazers would “go down” that night for a better pick. draft and would seat some of the best players on the team. The rest of the players had not yet been public information.
The team’s top four scorers, including Damian Lillard, did not play that night, as the co-conspirators allegedly bet more than $100,000 in total against Portland.
The co-conspirator in question is listed as a former NBA player whose career spanned from “approximately 1997 to 2014” and “an NBA coach since at least 2021.” Only Chauncey Billups, also charged in the poker case, fits that criteria. Billups is not listed as a defendant in the sports betting case, which remains an ongoing investigation.
On April 6, 2023, a defendant received inside information through a connection with a then-Orlando Magic player, the indictment states.
“A co-conspirator took advantage of a relationship with the Magic player to learn that several of the team’s best players would miss a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, information that had not yet been made public. The co-conspirator relayed the tip to [a defendant]who made a bet of approximately $11,000 that the Cavaliers would overcome the point spread. When the lineup change was later confirmed and the Cavaliers beat the Magic by 24 points, [the defendant] and the co-conspirator pocketed the proceeds,” the Justice Department said.
The other two games mentioned by the Justice Department are the ones Jontay Porter left early so he could hit the props. Porter has been banned for life by the NBA and currently faces nearly four years in prison.
Jontay Porter #34 of the Toronto Raptors drives to the basket during the game against the Detroit Pistons on March 13, 2024, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. (Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images)
Rozier and Jones were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The NBA announced that Rozier and Billups were immediately suspended from their teams, “and we will continue to cooperate with relevant authorities.”
“The integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the NBA said.
