Two former NBA players, Malik Beasley and Ed Davis, as well as a sports agent and three other individuals, have been formally indicted in connection with a massive illegal sports betting scheme. The accusations reveal that the plan targeted the manipulation of statistics from at least four games of the 2023-24 season of the professional basketball league. The indictment, released on Monday by the federal court, points to a complex network of fraud.
Davis, Rob Gorodetsky, Ernesto Plascencia and William Brown were arrested on Monday, according to a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York. On the other hand, Beasley and Paolo Zamorano, Davis’ agent and also a defendant in the case, were not in custody as of earlier this week. Beasley’s defense has already informed that the athlete will voluntarily surrender to the authorities in the coming days.
Former NBA athletes involved in illegal betting plot
Federal investigations indicate that Malik Beasley, who spent nine years in the NBA, lost millions of dollars in personal bets throughout his career. This debt situation is cited as a crucial factor that would have led him to become involved in the statistics manipulation scheme during the 2023-24 season, a period in which he played for the Milwaukee Bucks. The indictment details that Beasley agreed to alter his on-court performance to benefit co-conspirators, who would then place bets on those specific statistics.
Indictment records reveal examples of bets that totaled more than $75,000, generating net profits of at least $121,000 for those involved. The FBI highlighted the seriousness of the case, with James C. Barnacle Jr., assistant director of the criminal investigation division, stating that “Malik Beasley allowed himself to be bought and altered his game performance to line the pockets of Ed Davis and his other co-conspirators.” The investigation lasted a year and a half, and Beasley’s defense reiterates the player’s innocence.
The mechanics of cheating: manipulating rebounds in crucial games
The fraud, as described in the indictment, involved Beasley manipulating his rebounding statistics in specific games. He received bribes from co-conspirators, which were often used to pay off debts he owed to Ed Davis. The two were teammates on the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2020-21 season, and Davis was known within the scheme as Beasley’s “guardian.”
A text message from December 2023, included in the indictment, shows Davis encouraging Beasley: “You can only beat Vegas with sports betting. We can make good money.” A month later, Beasley informed Davis of his intention to perform below average in rebounding in a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 26, 2024. The defendants and their associates placed several fraudulent bets worth tens of thousands of dollars on Beasley’s “under rebounds.” In that game, Beasley finished with three rebounds, slightly below the 3.5 rebound betting line.
The federal scheme also alleged that other matches were subject to manipulation:
- February 27, 2024: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Charlotte Hornets
- March 10, 2024: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Los Angeles Clippers
- March 21, 2024: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Brooklyn Nets
In one notable episode, before the game against the Clippers, Beasley reportedly indicated to Davis that he would grab more rebounds than the over/under line of 3.5. He recorded his fourth rebound in the last second of the game. After the game, defendant Brown texted Plascencia, commenting on Beasley’s last-second rebound: “He got 1 rebound with 1.1 seconds left. … He pushed [Bucks teammate Pat] Connaughton out of the way.”
Financial difficulties as a possible motivating factor for the scheme
Malik Beasley had faced significant financial problems in recent years, which, according to the indictment, may have been a motivator for his involvement in the gambling scheme. In March last year, a judge ordered him to pay $1 million to his former agency, which sued him for failing to repay a $650,000 marketing advance.
Last summer, Beasley was evicted from his Detroit apartment after the landlord sued him for $21,505 in unpaid rent. News of the federal investigation into Beasley came to light as he was negotiating a three-year, $42 million contract with the Detroit Pistons last June. Despite these hardships, Beasley has accumulated nearly $60 million over the course of his NBA career.
Ed Davis, a lottery pick by the Raptors in 2013, had a 12-season NBA career, earning approximately $47 million during his stints with eight teams. His attorney, John Adams, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Repercussion and the NBA’s growing concern with the integrity of betting
The indictment of Beasley and Davis brings the number of current or former NBA players involved in federal gambling schemes to five or six in the past two years. This case adds to a series of other incidents that have shaken the integrity of the league.
Four days after the Beasley case in March, then-Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter was placed under investigation for similar activity, prompting Davis to back away from continuing the scheme, according to prosecutors. Other names, such as former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones, who pleaded guilty in an insider trading case involving Terry Rozier, are also named as co-conspirators in similar cases in the Eastern District of New York.
The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) issued a statement to ESPN, saying, “We are aware of the indictment and are working to ensure that appropriate due process rights are protected and that the integrity of the game is maintained.” NBA spokesman Mike Bass also said: “We are reviewing the federal indictment released today involving Malik Beasley and Ed Davis. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
Next steps and the position of the defendants and the league
With the filing of the indictment, the defendants will now face the full legal process, which may include trial or settlements. Steve Haney, Malik Beasley’s attorney, stated that although the indictment is not proof of guilt, they are coordinating the former player’s voluntary surrender and maintain his innocence on all charges.
Kenneth Breen, lawyer for Paolo Zamorano, Davis’ agent, also spoke out, stating that “these accusations are unfounded. Paolo awaits his day in court, where he will be exonerated.” The NBA and NBPA will continue to cooperate with authorities and conduct their own investigations, which may result in additional disciplinary sanctions depending on the legal outcome of the cases. Federal authorities have reinforced that bribery and insider betting schemes undermine the credibility of American sports and harm the viewing public.
