Another NBA Star Is Drawn Into Shocking ‘100k’ Gambling Scandal

An unnamed Charlotte Hornets player has been drawn into the gambling scandal that has rocked the NBA.

The prosecution against former Boston Celtics and Hornets ace Terry Rozier, who is standing as a co-defendant alongside Deniro Laster, revealed text messages in court which confirm that Rozier was attempting to bribe an unnamed teammate into joining his alleged betting scheme.

The 32-year-old, who is accused of manipulating his own performance to profit from bets back in 2023, has so far plead guilty to charges of bribery, money laundering and wire fraud.

The 100k Gang

In the latest revelation, which was heard in court yesterday, a series of text message exchanges were included in a prosecution filing.

The messages appear to show Laster, in communication with co-conspirator Marves Fairley, confirming that attempts had been made to convince a Charlotte Hornets player to leave a game early, so that the co-conspirators could profit from betting on the ‘unders’ side of his prop lines.

Reportedly, Laster messaged the anonymous player asking if he was ‘tryna make 100k gang’… seemingly a nod to the charges levied against Rozier.

However, the prosecution stressed that the unnamed Hornets player may not have been aware of the gambling scheme, nor that Rozier was cognisant of the messages between his co-defendants and the teammate.

An NBA spokesperson commented: “It is our understanding that no other NBA player other than Terry Rozier is alleged to have engaged in any misconduct related to the gambling scheme claimed to have been perpetrated by Rozier and Deniro Laster.”

New Evidence?

When the new text message evidence was revealed in court, Rozier’s defence lawyer – David Markus – filed a rebuttal: “Terry Rozier is innocent.

“The objective evidence proves it. Unlike every other individual charged in this sweeping conspiracy, he never placed a bet on an NBA game or player prop, and he had no knowledge that anyone else was betting on his performance.”

Department of Justice prosecutors have also alleged that Rozier failed to hand over all of his phones during the NBA’s separate investigation – as well as suggesting that he ‘lied’ to investigators.

They want evidence presented during that inquiry to be admissible during their own investigation.

Legal Battle

The legal case focuses on the accusation that Rozier, accepted a $100,000 (£75,500) bribe to deliberately leave a March 2023 game between the Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans early. In that contest, Rozier was withdrawn from the court after just nine minutes with a foot injury.

In that time, he managed to score five points, collect four rebounds and provide two assists, with most of his ‘unders’ prop lines landing for bettors. However, he went ‘over’ his rebounds line – the prosecution alleges they have evidence to suggest that Rozier offered to reduce his payment to $70,000 (£53,000), as some of the syndicate’s bets had lost accordingly.

It has been alleged that Laster had subsequently travelled to Philadelphia carrying a duffel that contained $70,000 in cash. In the latest court filing, prosecutors reportedly share a text message exchange between Rozier and Laster, with the former writing: “Ima count the money when we back.”

Performance Manipulation?

A number of individuals profited from Rozier’s underperformance in that March 2023 game; including Laster’s sister, who allegedly placed ‘significant’ bets on the unders lines.

Fairley, who has already pleaded guilty to felony charges, claimed in court that he agreed to pay an NBA player to manipulate their performance – however, Rozier denies all of the allegations.

He and Laster, the only two defendants to plead not guilty, will face a full trial in February.