Malik Beasley is among six defendants who are now facing multiple charges in connection with an alleged NBA betting scheme.
The U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of New York said Monday (June 29) that Beasley, who most recently played for the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league’s Cangrejeros de Santurce team, is accused of being bribed to “fix his performance in multiple games in order to place fraudulent wagers.” According to prosecutors, this occurred while Beasley was with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Other defendants include Edward Davis, William Brown, Robert Gorodetsky, Ernesto Plascencia, and Paolo Zamorano. Davis, notably, is a former NBA player, while Zamorano is described as a “current NBA player agent” in Monday’s press release. All six are charged with wire fraud conspiracy, bribery in sporting contests, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy.
As highlighted in the 22-page indictment, viewed by Complex, NBA rules bar Beasley and other players from gambling on games, point-shaving, or other efforts aimed at fixing outcomes. In late 2023 and early 2024, the defendants are said to have put in motion a scheme aimed at influencing games via bribery and defrauding betting companies by using non-public intel to inform wagers.
Beasley, specifically, is accused of agreeing with Davis ahead of certain games to either “underperform” or “overperform,” at which point the other defendants, plus several co-conspirators, placed wagers informed by this intel. Specific examples of this alleged scheme in action are provided in Monday’s indictment, as are excerpted text conversations.
“We can make some good money,” Davis allegedly texted Beasley in December 2023, one month prior to the Bucks’ game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
All told, the six defendants, alongside their alleged co-conspirators, are accused of placing hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of fraudulent wagers. If convicted as charged, each defendant is looking at a maximum sentence of as much as 20 years behind bars for wire fraud conspiracy, 20 years for money laundering conspiracy, and five years for bribery in sporting contests.
In a statement, Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, argued that this alleged scheme, and others like it, “erode the integrity of American sports and victimize the sports-watching public.”
