Malik Beasley and Ed Davis Indicted on Federal Charges in NBA Betting Scheme

Key Points

• Malik Beasley and Ed Davis were indicted in the Eastern District of New York on federal charges
• The six-defendant case alleges Beasley fixed his stats so co-conspirators could win prop bets
• Charges include wire fraud, bribery in sporting contests, and money laundering conspiracy
• Beasley's attorney says the government is coordinating a voluntary surrender this week

The federal gambling investigation that has been circling the NBA for a year reached one of its rotation players on Monday. Malik Beasley, a nine-year veteran who averaged 16 points last season, was indicted on federal charges tied to a sports-betting scheme involving point shaving and prop bets, his attorney Steve Haney told ESPN, with the government coordinating a voluntary surrender this week.

The indictment, unsealed in the Eastern District of New York, names six defendants: Beasley and former NBA player Edward "Ed" Davis, alongside William Brown, Robert Gorodetsky, Ernesto Plascencia, and current NBA player agent Paolo Zamorano. Prosecutors allege Beasley, then with the Milwaukee Bucks, agreed in advance with Davis — described as Beasley's "gatekeeper" — that he would underperform, and at times overperform, relative to his betting statistics in specific games. The co-conspirators then used that non-public information to place wagers conditioned on his stat lines, while Beasley allegedly received bribes in return, often by having his gambling debts to Davis reduced or paid off. The charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery in sporting contests, honest services wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy.

The conduct centers on four games in the 2023-24 season, including a January 26, 2024 game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in which prosecutors say Beasley told Davis he would underperform on rebounding so that "under" prop bets on the statistic would hit. Davis, who was out of the NBA at the time, allegedly relayed the information to others who bet accordingly. None of the allegations have been proven, and Beasley is presumed innocent.

Beasley is the latest name in the Eastern District's wider sports-gambling probe, the same investigation that produced the October arrests of Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups, and Damon Jones; Beasley was known to be part of the inquiry then but was not taken into custody. The case turns on the same exposure the leagues took on with legalized betting: once a single player's rebound total is a tradable prop, the integrity risk lives in the prop market itself, and the NBA has spent the past year confronting it. The league has previously banned figures caught in federal gambling cases, even as lawmakers move to rein in the betting markets themselves.

Source: ESPN, U.S. Department of Justice, NBC News