07/01/26 05:40:00
Printable Page
07/01 17:39 CDT Former NBA star Malik Beasley pleads not guilty to gambling
charges
Former NBA star Malik Beasley pleads not guilty to gambling charges
By MICHAEL R. SISAK
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) --- Malik Beasley's lawyer said the indicted former NBA star
"wants to move on with his life" after pleading not guilty Wednesday to charges
that he altered his play in certain games in 2024 to enrich sports bettors and
ease his own debts.
Beasley, the latest big name caught up in a sweeping federal gambling
investigation, said little at his arraignment in Brooklyn federal court. He
answered a judge's questions with "yes, your honor" but let his lawyer, Jason
Goldman, enter his plea on his behalf.
Afterward, the 6-foot-4 (1.92 meter) shooting guard stood quietly as Goldman
spoke to reporters outside the courthouse, demurring when one asked if he had
anything to say to his fans. Beasley, who played for six NBA teams in nine
years, missed the most recent season because he was under investigation.
Instead, he played for a Puerto Rican team co-owned by the rapper Bad Bunny.
"He looks forward to fighting. He's fought every day," Goldman said. "He's
presumed innocent and that has to mean something still, obviously."
Beasley, 29, and sports agent Paolo Zamorano, who also pleaded not guilty on
Wednesday, were among six people charged in an indictment unsealed this week.
They are the newest defendants in a gambling sweep that has netted more than
three dozen arrests, including former Miami Heat star Terry Rozier, who was
accused of conspiring with friends to help them win bets, and Basketball Hall
of Famer Chauncey Billups, who was accused of conspiring to fix high-stakes
poker games.
Zamorano, 39, formerly represented another co-defendant, ex-NBA player Ed
Davis, who had loaned money to Beasley and is accused of acting as his
"gatekeeper" in the alleged scheme.
"We look forward to our day in court," Zamorano's lawyer, Kenneth Breen, told
reporters.
Beasley and Zamorano were both released on bond. They're due back in court for
a status conference on Aug. 6.
Beasley is accused of fixing or trying to fix his performance in at least four
games while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024 by under or overperforming
bookmakers' expectations. In exchange, the indictment said, the bettors bribed
Beasley and his debts to Davis were reduced or eliminated.
"Only way you can beat Vegas is sports betting," Davis told Beasley in a Jan.
26, 2024, text message, according to the indictment. "Everything else they got
the edge."
In one example, according to the indictment, Beasley told Davis that he would
try to outperform the 3.5 line that sportsbooks had set for his rebound total
in Milwaukee's game against the Los Angeles Clippers on March 10, 2024.
With a second left, and the Bucks up by seven points, Beasley challenged a
Clippers shot and dashed past four players to grab his fourth rebound and
securing a win for the bettors as the horn sounded.
One bettor made a $3,252 profit on a $2,838 wager, the indictment said, and
another made a $2,107 profit on wagers totaling $2,400. Other bettors missed
out and lost money, mistakenly placing wagers on Beasley to underperform the
rebound total because of an apparent miscommunication, the indictment said.
"What's funny is after he got it he had a big sigh of relief," a co-conspirator
said in a text message, according to the indictment.
Beasley borrowed money from Davis, a former teammate, after racking up millions
of dollars in gambling losses. His widely reported financial problems include
disputes with a Detroit landlord, a Milwaukee barber and a Minnesota dentist. A
2025 lawsuit from a sports marketing agency resulted in a $1 million default
judgment against him.
"There's a bigger conversation here about the industry, about individuals and
institutions that are profiting billions and billions of dollars and fueling
the addiction," Goldman said.
Beasley has been aware of the investigation for about a year, Assistant U.S.
Attorney Benjamin Weintraub said.
He last played in the NBA for the Detroit Pistons on a one-year, $6 million
contract in the 2024-2025 season. He averaged 16 points per game and scored 20
in his last game, a playoff loss to the New York Knicks. He is one of five
players in NBA history with more than 300 three-pointers in a season.
Beasley's release was secured by his parents, actors Michael and Deena Beasley,
who joined the arraignment by phone from their home in Georgia. Stone-faced for
most of the hourlong proceeding, Beasley laughed at his mother's answer to
Magistrate Judge Taryn Merkl's question about how often they talk to each other.
"I probably call him every day. He might not answer every day," Deena Beasley
said, prompting chuckles in the courtroom. "If I call him six times a week,
he'll answer five times."
|
