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06/29 11:19 CDT Former NBA players Malik Beasley, Ed Davis are latest to be
charged in gambling scandal
Former NBA players Malik Beasley, Ed Davis are latest to be charged in gambling
scandal
By ED WHITE
Associated Press
Former NBA players Malik Beasley and Ed Davis have been indicted in the latest
round of charges in the government's sprawling gambling investigation,
authorities said Monday.
When he was playing for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024, Beasley agreed to tailor
his performance based on prop bets in certain games, according to an indictment
unsealed in Brooklyn.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said Beasley and others "turned professional
basketball into a criminal betting operation."
The schemes, he added, "erode the integrity of American sports and victimize
the sports-watching public."
Attorneys for Beasley and Davis did not immediately return messages seeking
comment on charges of conspiracy and bribery.
Nocella said the scheme involved hundreds of thousands of dollars. The
indictment, which names six people, says Beasley had financial woes, including
millions of dollars in gambling losses, and had relied on Davis, a former
teammate, for financial help.
In return for fixing his performance, Beasley got paid by his money-winning
co-conspirators and his debts to Davis were reduced or eliminated, the
indictment alleges.
In one example, Beasley dashed past four players to grab a rebound at the last
second in a Milwaukee victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on March 10, 2024.
With the Bucks ahead by seven points, the shot and any rebound would not have
affected the outcome.
But by hustling to grab the missed shot, Beasley finished with four rebounds
that night, which was a winning prop bet, the indictment states.
"What's funny is after he got it he had a big sigh of relief," a co-conspirator
said in a text message, according to the indictment.
Beasley last played for the Detroit Pistons in 2024-25, averaging 16 points. He
is one of five players in NBA history with more than 300 3-pointers in a
season, but has not played in the NBA since because of the investigation. He
played briefly for a team in Puerto Rico earlier this year.
Beasley's financial woes have been widely reported by the news media, including
lawsuits by his Detroit landlord and payment disputes with a Milwaukee barber
and Minnesota dentist.
Davis was a journeyman who was primarily a backup in a 12-year career that got
him roughly $48 million in gross salary. He and Beasley briefly were teammates
in Minnesota in the 2020-21 season.
In April, former NBA player Damon Jones, 49, became the first person to plead
guilty in a gambling sweep that led to the arrests of more than 30 people,
including reputed mobsters and other basketball figures.
Jones entered guilty pleas to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for
his role in schemes to defraud major sportsbooks, including DraftKings and
FanDuel, and filch millions of dollars from unwitting poker players.
He was accused of selling or attempting to sell insider information to bettors
based on his relationships in the NBA.
One of the biggest figures in the sweeping gambling investigation is Chauncey
Billups, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame who was coach of the Portland
Trail Blazers when he was charged last year.
Billups is accused of participating in a conspiracy to fix high-stakes card
games tied to La Cosa Nostra organized crime families that cheated unsuspecting
gamblers out of at least $7 million. He has pleaded not guilty.
Another key figure is Terry Rozier, who was on the Miami Heat when he was
charged in 2025. Rozier is accused of conspiring with friends to help them win
bets on his performance during a 2023 game when he played for the Charlotte
Hornets. He, too, has pleaded not guilty.
___
Associated Press writers Tim Reynolds in Miami and Michael R. Sisak in New York
contributed to this report.
