NBA player Terry Rozier is accused of receiving R$ 355 to abandon a game.
US federal prosecutors have accused basketball player Terry Rozier of accepting $70 (approximately R$355) to fake an injury and leave an NBA game before it ended. The complaint was released this Thursday (29). The athlete denies the accusations.
Authorities have expanded an existing case against Rozier with new charges related to an alleged sports betting scheme. The player had already been charged in October with alleged involvement in fraud against betting companies, according to federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.
The indictment alleges that the scheme aimed to benefit bettors with access to privileged information about NBA athletes and teams. The strategy consisted of betting that Rozier would underperform, guaranteed by the player's early exit from the game.
The central episode of the alleged bribery occurred on March 23, 2023, when Rozier was playing for the Charlotte Hornets in a game against the New Orleans Pelicans. The player was arrested last year and suspended by the NBA. In April, he was released by the Miami Heat.
Rozier is facing charges alongside five other defendants. Two of them have already pleaded guilty. Deniro Laster, identified as a childhood friend of the athlete, is also facing charges related to the alleged bribery. Shane Hennen, identified as a poker player and sports bettor, is another defendant.
Marves Fairley, a betting influencer and also a defendant in the case, pleaded guilty on Thursday. In court, Fairley stated that he paid an athlete "to alter his performance in the game." Federal prosecutor David Berman stated that the athlete in question was Terry Rozier.
The complaint alleges that Rozier received an initial offer of $100 (over R$500 at the current exchange rate). According to prosecutors, the bettors profited tens of thousands of dollars from the operation.
Rozier grabbed more rebounds than predicted by the betting lines. This reduced some of the bettors' winnings. The value of the supposed payout would have dropped from $100 to $70.
The player amassed earnings exceeding $160 million throughout his career. Rozier was about to begin his 11th season in the NBA when he was arrested, according to The New York Times.
The complaint does not identify who directly paid the alleged bribe to the player. Prosecutors claim that Rozier informed Deniro Laster of the plan. Laster, in turn, allegedly passed the information on to several bettors.
The new charges include bribery in sports competitions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud against honest services. These crimes are in addition to existing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The case is being heard in federal court in Brooklyn.
In a statement released Thursday, Rozier's lawyer, Jim Trusty, disputed the new accusations. He stated: "New accusations, new theories, but it's all just an attempt to make something stick."
