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Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier pleaded not guilty to counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering related to an illegal gambling scheme he allegedly took part in. The 31-year-old point guard formally entered the plea during his arraignment in Brooklyn federal court Monday.
Rozier was arrested for his alleged involvement stemming from a game in 2023 in which he played fewer than 10 minutes, citing a foot injury. Multiple people placed high-stakes wagers on Rozier to perform poorly before the game, all of whom won.
Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, admitted to Fox News Digital shortly after his client’s arrest that Rozier “told a friend” he would take himself out of a game early, which is “not a crime.” Trusty said Rozier was dealing with a “chronic injury,” but Rozier had not been placed on the Charlotte Hornets’ injury report before the game.
However, Rozier is alleged to have 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.
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.
Rozier, wearing a gray suit, didn’t speak in court other than to answer the judge’s “yes” or “no” questions. He declined to comment afterward, but his lawyer Trusty said his client was “excited” to begin mounting his defense against the charges.
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Trusty said at a hearing later with the five other defendants in the case that he would soon be filing a motion to dismiss the case based on constitutional grounds. He also urged the judge to proceed with the case on a “speedy” timeline, saying Rozier is dealing with “multiple layers of litigation,” including arbitration with the NBA, but U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall brushed those concerns aside, saying “arbitration with the league is of no concern for me.”
Hall set the next hearing in the case for March 3 after hearing from prosecutors that they would soon be handling over “voluminous” amounts of evidence to defense lawyers, including an initial set of 1,000 documents and more than 55 gigabytes of data.
Rozier was one of more than 30 people, along with NBA figures Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones, who were part of FBI probes into alleged illegal gambling with ties to the La Cosa Nostra crime families. Billups and Jones are alleged to have knowingly participated in rigged poker games, while Jones also allegedly leaked non-public information about NBA games in order for those close to him to place wagers with a competitive advantage.
Both Billups and Rozier have been placed on unpaid leave from their teams as their court cases play out.
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