Malik Beasley’s NBA career is up in flames as the former sharp-shooting guard has been indicted on charges for gambling related to a sports betting scheme.
Beasley is expected to voluntarily surrender to authorities this week, his attorney, Steve Haney, told ESPN.
The charges stem from illegal manipulation of sporting contests involving point shaving and prop bets.
Prosecutors allege that Beasley tailored his performance around betting trends in games from 2024 when he was a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.
“Bribery and insider betting schemes like this one involving former NBA players and a current NBA player agent who exploited inside NBA information for profit erode the integrity of American sports and victimize the sports-watching public,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said, per the AP.
The scheme allegedly involves hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the indictment named six additional people, including former NBA player Ed Davis.
Beasley was a first-round draft pick in 2016 and has a total career earnings of $59.9 million.
Coincidentally, Beasley is listed as represented by “Parlay Sports & Entertainment” and agent Brian Jungreis.
Prosecutors say that Beasley had millions of dollars in gambling losses and that Davis loaned him money.
To get out of debt, Davis and Beasley allegedly worked with three others to bet on Beasley, with one of the men being NBA agent Paolo Zamorano.
The group allegedly bet thousands on a Bucks-Cavaliers game on Jan. 26, 2024.
In that game, Beasley played 27 minutes, going 1-for-2 from the field and scoring three points with three rebounds and one assist.
Prosecutors also allege that Beasley manipulated his performance on Feb. 27, 2024, as well as on March 10 and March 21 of that season.
Bettors allegedly placed money on Beasley to hit over on his rebounds on March 10, 2024, against the Clippers.
Beasley, Davis, Zamorano, and two other defendants, William “Willo” Brown and Robert Gorodetsky, now face charges including sports bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
“Only way you can beat Vegas is sports betting,” Davis texted to Beasley a month ahead of the Bucks-Cavaliers game in Jan., according to the indictment. “Everything else, they got the edge.”
Beasley was offered a three-year, $42 million deal with the Pistons prior to the revelation that he was under federal investigation, after which Detroit rescinded its offer.
Beasley has been out of the league as he awaited the results of this investigation.