Terry Rozier Charged in Alleged $100K Game-Fixing Bribe

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn returned a superseding indictment on Thursday charging former Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier with sports bribery and honest‑services wire fraud, alleging he accepted a $100,000 kickback to underperform in a March 23, 2023 Charlotte Hornets game. The new counts were added to an existing indictment that included wire fraud and money‑laundering charges.

The indictment alleges Rozier and co‑conspirators arranged for him to exit the Hornets’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans to benefit bettors holding “under” proposition bets on his statistical line. Rozier played nine minutes and 34 seconds that night and then missed the Hornets’ next eight games. Some sportsbooks stopped taking prop bets on him because of heavy wagering. Prosecutors say the original $100,000 payment was later negotiated down to roughly $70,000 after bettors’ winnings were lower than expected.

The new bribery counts were filed hours after co‑conspirator Marves Fairley pleaded guilty and admitted he paid an NBA player about $70,000 and used insider information on NBA, NCAA and Chinese Professional Basketball League games. The superseding indictment also adds bribery‑related charges against co‑defendants identified as Laster and Shane Hennen.

Rozier was arrested in an FBI sweep in October that produced two indictments and charged 34 defendants in an investigation into illegal sports betting and rigged poker games. He was released on a $3 million bond secured by his Florida home. The NBA placed him on indefinite leave and the Miami Heat waived him last month. Rozier has denied participating in the scheme.

His lawyer, Jim Trusty of Ifrah Law, filed a December motion to dismiss, arguing the government’s theory conflicts with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that narrowed the federal wire fraud statute. Trusty wrote the new indictment is “just an effort to make something stick.”

The broader investigation has produced additional guilty pleas and charges. Former NBA player Damon Jones pleaded guilty last month to providing inside information to bettors and acting as a “face card” to attract high‑stakes gamblers at rigged poker games. U.S. Army Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to federal charges tied to bets on a prediction market related to the Maduro raid. A public match‑fixing accusation involving a Panama national team player prompted a league investigation weeks before the FIFA World Cup.

Player unions for the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS recently petitioned the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to ban “negative outcome” and “mention” event contracts on prediction platforms, arguing those contracts, which can pay out when a player underperforms, create incentives similar to those alleged in the Rozier indictment.

The Eastern District of New York returned the superseding indictment on Thursday. Prosecutors did not comment; court filings show the new counts expand the government’s case while related trials and pleas proceed.