Feds Say Terry Rozier Took $70K Bribe in Sports Betting Case

Terry Rozier’s legal troubles over allegations he was involved in an illegal sports betting scheme just escalated.

Federal prosecutors added two new counts against Rozier—including the anticipated allegation that he took a bribe—in a superseding indictment made public Thursday. The other new count is “honest services wire fraud conspiracy,” making it four total counts against Rozier in the sprawling gambling scandal that first exploded in October. The others are conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The superseding indictment includes no new games in which Rozier is accused of point shaving or taking himself out early. The new information all relates to the same game that was included in the original indictment, a March 23, 2023, matchup in which the Hornets lost to the Pelicans 115-96.

Rozier, on the Hornets at the time, was previously accused of informing his childhood friend, Deniro Laster, that he would pretend to be hurt and “prematurely remove himself from the game in the first quarter.” Laster, also a defendant, was accused of selling that information to multiple co-conspirators, who bet the under on multiple Rozier statistics for about $100,000. 

Rozier did as he said, removing himself from the game after less than 10 minutes and never returning. He scored five points (including a three-pointer) and had two assists, well below his averages of about 21 points, 5 assists and 2.6 threes.

The superseding indictment goes a step further, saying Rozier agreed to do this in return for a roughly $100,000 bribe, and that he committed to give a portion of that money to Laster. Rozier only ended up receiving a bribe of about $70,000, the indictment says, because he finished with four rebounds and therefore “went over his betting line.”

Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, wrote in an emailed statement to Front Office Sports, “the superseding indictment just confirms that our motion to dismiss was righteous – new charges, new theories, but all just a misplaced effort to make something stick.”

The motion to dismiss, filed in December, blasted the evidence against Rozier as weak and cited U.S. Supreme Court precedent he said dooms the government’s case.

The superseding indictment indicates that prosecutors have been gleaning information from some defendants who originally professed innocence. One, Marves Fairley, changed his plea to guilty Thursday on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and said he “agreed to pay a player to change their game performance to give me an advantage.” The government says that player is Rozier.

Fairley was the second person to plead guilty in the case. Last month, former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones said he would change his plea to guilty.

The sports betting scandal was one of two cases revealed in October that, in total, featured 34 arrests. The other was an alleged mafia-backed poker ring in which Chauncey Billups was allegedly involved. Billups pleaded not guilty, and the judge is targeting a November trial for the poker case. A trial date for the betting case has not been set.

Rozier was traded to the Heat in 2024. Miami waived him last month to make a roster spot available for the play-in tournament. Rozier has been on leave since his arrest, but in February an arbitrator ruled that he still has to receive the $26.4 million he was owed by the Heat this season.