Former NBA player Ed Davis pled not guilty Tuesday to federal charges accusing him of sharing information about Malik Beasley’s planned performance in certain 2024 basketball games. Davis was arraigned on four charges in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY), released on $100,000 bond, and is prohibited from betting.
Davis has been called the “gatekeeper” in the case with Beasley at the center. He, Beasley, and four others were part of “a scheme to bribe Beasley to manipulate his performance in NBA games and use inside information about Beasley’s intended performance to profit via illegal betting activity,” per a press release from the EDNY.
Beasley, who pled not guilty in early July, allegedly agreed to alter his performance to allow bettors to win under/over betting markets. Federal prosecutors said Davis shared that information with bettors.
Beasley and Davis played one season together in 2020-21 with the Minnesota Timberwolves. They also both did stints with the NBA Utah Jazz and Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Baloncesto Superior National in Puerto Rico, but not at the same time. Davis (2010) and Beasley (2016) were first-round NBA draft picks.
12 to change pleas in rigged poker case
Also on Tuesday, attorneys in an alleged poker-rigging scheme requested that the EDNY schedule change-of-plea hearings. Joseph Lanni’s attorney requested his change-of-plea hearing be scheduled the week of July 27. The U.S. Department of Justice indicated that 11 other defendants, including Shane Hennen, would be changing their pleas.
In a letter to the court, federal prosecutors asked for change-of-plea hearings to be scheduled and wrote that “each of these defendants is expected to plead guilty to Count One of the indictment.”
Hennen who allegedly “lined up individuals who were poised to bet on the inside information” in the Terry Rozier case, is involved in a college basketball point-shaving case and also played a role in the rigged-poker scheme in which 31 people were arrested, per federal prosecutors.
Among those indicted in the poker case was former NBA star and 2021-25 Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups. He is not listed among those who plan to change their pleas. Billups has been referred to as a “face card” in the scheme — a recognizable person used to lure in other players.
LeForbes sentencing extended
In other sports betting scandal cases:
- A federal judge last week continued former poker player and illegal bookmaker Damian LeForbes’ sentencing hearing from June 16 to July 23. LeForbes signed a plea agreement in August 2024 after he was charged with money laundering and operating an illegal gambling business.
- Attorney Jeff Ifrah filed a motion to withdraw from Terry Rozier’s defense team July 10. That followed a motion from attorney James Trusty to withdraw on June 22. Rozier is now being represented by Miami defense attorney David Markus, who has been counsel for convicted Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
