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The Department of Justice listed seven games that saw high-stakes wagers after non-public information was disclosed to gamblers.
Terry Rozier, the DOJ says, was directly involved in one of them, while Damon Jones is said to have given information about two Los Angeles Lakers games when he was an assistant coach for the team.
Rozier’s alleged involvement came through a game on March 23, 2023, when he told a childhood friend, Deniro Laster, that he would take himself out of a game early, citing an injury, so Laster could place wagers based on the information. Neither Hornets officials nor betting companies were made aware of Rozier’s plan, 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 the national anthem is being sung by Mister Kim before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Terry Rozier played just nine minutes in this game. (Stephen Lew/USA Today Sports)
Laster then allegedly sold that information to other co-conspirators, and numerous people placed wagers totaling roughly $200,000 on Rozier’s “under” prop bets to hit in both parlay and straight wagers. After Rozier played just nine minutes and never returned, the bets won. Rozier and Laster counted cash winnings at Rozier’s home in Charlotte roughly a week later, the indictment says.
As far as Jones goes, he is alleged to have told someone close to him that a “prominent” player on the Lakers would not play on Feb. 9, 2023, before the information was public.
“Get a big bet on [the] Milwaukee [Bucks] tonight before the information is out! [Player 3] is out tonight. Bet enough so Djones can eat to [sic] now!!!,” Jones allegedly texted a friend.
The DOJ says the player was eventually 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 an off-day practice before the Golden State Warriors played the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
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Jones also gave apparent inside information about another “one of the Lakers’ best players” 11 months later regarding an injury that was likely to affect his performance, which ultimately backfired as the player “performed well” and the Lakers won.
Another game the DOJ mentioned was a Portland Trail Blazers–Chicago Bulls matchup on March 24, 2023, the day after Rozier played nine minutes, where a co-conspirator, “an NBA coach at the time,” allegedly told a longtime friend, who is also a defendant in the rigged poker scheme, that the Blazers would be “tanking” that night for a better draft pick and would sit some of the team’s best players. The resting of the players had not yet been public information.
The team’s top four scorers, including Damian Lillard, all did not play that night, as co-conspirators allegedly wagered more than $100,000 total against Portland.
The co-conspirator in question is listed as a former NBA player whose career spanned from “approximately 1997 through 2014” and “an NBA coach since at least 2021.” Only Chauncey Billups, also a defendant in the poker case, fits that criterion. Billups is not named as a defendant in the sports betting case, which remains an ongoing investigation.
On April 6, 2023, a defendant was given inside information through a connection to a then-Orlando Magic player, the indictment reads.
“A co-conspirator leveraged a relationship with the Magic player to learn that several of the team’s top players would sit out a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers — information that had not yet been made public. The co-conspirator relayed the tip to [a defendant], who placed an approximately $11,000 bet that the Cavaliers would outperform the point spread. When the lineup change was later confirmed and the Cavaliers went on to beat the Magic by 24 points, [the defendant] and the co-conspirator pocketed the winnings,” the DOJ said.
The two other games mentioned by the DOJ are the ones that Jontay Porter took himself out of early in order for under props to hit. Porter has been banned for life by the NBA and is currently facing 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)
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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 placed on immediate leave from their teams, “and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities.”
“The integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the NBA said.
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