Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn notified former NBA player Terry Rozier this week that they expect to file a superseding indictment against him in the sweeping, multi-year gambling scandal that has ensnared the league.
The Justice Department is expected to file new charges of sports bribery and honest services wire fraud against the former Miami Heat guard by mid-May, his attorney Jim Trusty told NBC News.
Trusty said the government told him about the development two hours before a hearing at which he argued to dismiss the original indictment, which accused Rozier of helping gamblers place bets on his own performance.
According to that initial indictment, filed last year, federal prosecutors alleged that Rozier faked a foot injury during a March 2023 game while playing for the Charlotte Hornets. Before the game, Rozier allegedly tipped off a group of bettors, who wagered on his plan to leave early — generating tens of thousands of dollars in profits.
Rozier pleaded not guilty last year to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
“It’s a sign that their wire fraud theory in the original indictment is a real stretch,” Trusty told NBC News. “By superseding, they’re throwing more stuff against the wall and hoping something sticks.”
Still, the Justice Department has argued it has evidence that Rozier solicited and accepted a bribe for his alleged conduct in the scheme.
The prospect of additional charges is one of the latest developments in two massive illegal gambling cases brought by prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York last year: one involving the rigging of Mafia-backed poker games and another on the use of nonpublic information to place bets on several NBA games. Together, the two alleged criminal operations generated over $10 million in ill-gotten gains, according to the Justice Department.
More than 30 people, including members and associates of four major Mafia crime families, Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and ex-NBA player Damon Jones, have been implicated in the gambling scandal.
On Tuesday, Jones became the first defendant to plead guilty in the investigation. Appearing before a federal judge in Brooklyn, he admitted to feeding inside information to sports gamblers, helping organize fixed poker games, and serving as a “face card” to attract high-end bettors. Jones pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud conspiracy across the two separate cases and is scheduled to be sentenced in January.
Another key figure, Marves Fairley, intends to plead guilty to charges stemming from the sports betting case, according to court documents filed this week.
Prosecutors alleged that Fairley used non-public information about several NBA games, including the one involving Rozier, to place fraudulent wagers.
Fairley also intends to plead guilty in a separate NCAA point-shaving case in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania over allegedly recruiting players who would accept bribes to influence games, the documents showed.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn and Pennsylvania have asked that Fairley’s two cases be consolidated so that he can enter his expected guilty pleas and be sentenced in New York.
