NBA’s Terry Rozier has now pleaded not guilty, escalating the NBA betting case which his lawyer has described as “trophy hunting.”
Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier has pleaded not guilty in a New York federal court, joining Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups in denying illegal gambling allegations.
Rozier entered the plea on December 8 before Magistrate Judge Clay Kaminsky, denying charges of wire fraud and money-laundering conspiracy relating to an alleged scheme to rig player-prop wagers during his time with the Charlotte Hornets.
He was released on a $3m bond, having surrendered his passport and agreed to travel restrictions across the US.
Billups, who appeared in court last month, remains under strict conditions including travel limits and a ban on gambling activity. Both men were placed on leave by the NBA after their arrests in October, while the National Basketball Players Association has filed a grievance over Rozier’s unpaid suspension.
What prosecutors allege happened
Rozier and Billups are among the highest-profile defendants in two criminal conspiracies, with Rozier’s facing allegations using insider information and Billup’s said to be involved in rigged poker games backed by the Mob.
According to the indictment, Rozier is accused of tipping off associates that he would exit a March 2023 Hornets game early with a foot injury, enabling more than $200,000 to be wagered. He left after nine minutes and the bets reportedly paid out tens of thousands of dollars.
Billups, meanwhile, is charged in a related poker case involving modified shuffling machines, wireless communication devices and so-called “face cards”, which were former NBA players used to lure wealthy victims. Prosecutors say the schemes generated millions in illicit profits between 2019 and 2024.
At an October press conference, FBI Director Kash Patel described the operation as “a network of corruption that has undermined the integrity of professional sports”. Prosecutors emphasised regulated US sportsbooks were “victims, not participants”.
The NBA, which has expanded commercial partnerships with betting operators since 2018, said it is cooperating fully with investigators and views the allegations with “the utmost seriousness”.
Rozier’s lawyer hits out at ‘trophy-hunting’ arrests
Rozier’s lawyer, Jim Trusty, has expressed his discontent with how authorities have acted throughout the case so far. Following his client’s arrest in October, he accused federal agents of staging a “photo op” rather than allowing a voluntary surrender.
“They wanted the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete with a perp walk,” he said at the time, adding prosecutors were relying on “spectacularly in-credible sources rather than actual evidence”.
Trusty confirmed on December 8 he will file a motion to dismiss the charges and will separately dispute the NBA’s decision to place Rozier on unpaid leave in an arbitration hearing set for December 17.
Billups’ attorney has also vowed to fight the charges, calling the accusations “absurd” and saying his client would not risk “a hall-of-fame legacy” over gambling plots.
Trusty’s claim the authorities are “trophy hunting” follows weeks of similar high-profile cases in the US. In November, two Cleveland Guardians pitchers, Luis Leandro Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase, were indicted in another Brooklyn-led probe alleging they conspired with bettors to fix individual pitches in MLB games.
In the UFC, fighter Isaac Dulgarian was released by the promotion after suspicious betting patterns emerged ahead of his November bout, leading bookmakers to suspend markets.
