CHICAGO (WGN) – The recent NBA betting scandal includes wagers made on a Chicago Bulls game from 2023, according to court documents.
According to an indictment that was unsealed Thursday morning, 35-year-old Eric “Spook” Earnest, 33-year-old Marves “Vez” Fairley and 31-year-old Shane “Sugar” Hennen, have been charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy for their alleged roles in a scheme to use inside information from NBA players and coaches to profit from illegal betting.
The indictment alleges that prior to a game on March 24, 2023 that featured the Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers, a then-NBA coach (identified as “co-conspirator 8” in the indictment) and longtime friend of Earnest told Earnest the Trail Blazers were going to be tanking (i.e., intentionally losing) to increase their odds of getting a higher draft pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
The coach allegedly told Earnest, before the news was made public, that several of Portland’s best players would be sitting out the game against the Bulls.
The players ruled out for Portland included their four highest per-game scorers during the 2022-2023 NBA season, according to the indictment.
Before the players were publicly ruled out for the March 24 game, Fairley and Hennen, along with their co-conspirators, reportedly bet and made others bet on the Trail Blazers losing the game to the Bulls, totaling more than nearly $100,000.
When the lineup change was later confirmed, betting lines shifted dramatically and the group’s early bets resulted in major winnings.
The Bulls ended up winning that game by a final score of 124-96.
No Bulls players or coaches are involved in the gambling scheme.
In addition to Earnest, Fairley and Hennen, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, 31, and his longtime friend Deniro Laster, 30, were also charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
Rozier is accused of distributing insider information to conspirators who then distributed that information through a network of bettors.
During a March 23, 2023, game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Rozier – then an active player for the Charlotte Hornets – allegedly tipped off Laster that he planned to leave the game early due to a purported injury.
Rozier is alleged to have told Laster this confidential information so Laster could place wagers based on what Rozier had told him.
Laster, along with Fairley, Hennen and others, then allegedly used that confidential information to place and direct over $200,000 in wagers predicting Rozier’s “under” statistics for that game (i.e., that Rozier would underperform). Rozier left the game after nine minutes and many of the bets were successful, netting tens of thousands of dollars in profits.
Furthermore, Laster is alleged to have received the cash and drove through the night to Rozier’s home where they counted the profits together.
The Pelicans won that game by a final score of 115-96.
Trail Blazers Head Coach Chauncey Billups, a former player himself, was also arrested on Thursday and charged with participating in a conspiracy to fix high-stakes card games tied to La Cosa Nostra organized crime families that cheated unsuspecting gamblers out of at least $7 million.
Both Rozier and Billups have been placed on leave from their respective teams, according to a statement from the NBA.
Former NBA assistant coach and player Damon Jones was also charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. He is accused of participating in both schemes.
The NBA regular season tipped off on Tuesday.