Attorneys for Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier are asking a federal judge to dismiss the two felony charges he’s facing for his alleged role in the NBA’s wide-ranging gambling scandal, according to a new motion filed on Rozier’s behalf.
Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, wrote in court documents provided to USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday, Dec. 23, that federal prosecutors in the case are overreaching and going against recent Supreme Court precedent by charging Rozier with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in the alleged scheme. Trusty instead argued the federal government is attempting to ‘enforce its view of integrity in sports wagering’ and that the allegations are a violation of the wagering rules set by state-licensed betting companies.
Rozier’s side wants the charges thrown out by the U.S. District Court for Eastern New York since this is conduct traditionally regulated at the state level. Rozier was arraigned on Dec. 9 and pleaded not guilty to both charges in federal court in Brooklyn.
‘The government has billed this case as involving ‘insider betting’ and ‘rigging’ professional basketball games,’ Trusty wrote. ‘But the indictment alleges something less headline-worthy: that some bettors broke certain sportsbooks’ terms of use against wagering based on non-public information and ‘straw betting,” Trusty wrote, in reference to the practice of one person placing bets on another’s behalf.
The 2025-26 NBA season began with the startling revelation that Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA player Damon Jones had been arrested in connection with two federal indictments related to illegal gambling on games and rigged poker games that had Mafia ties.
Federal authorities allege the extensive scheme spanned years, and there are more than 30 co-defendants accused in the case along with these prominent NBA figures. Rozier has only been charged in the indictment involving illegal gambling on games, though authorities said in October that the investigation is still ongoing. Rozier was placed on immediate and indefinite leave from the Heat until the situation is resolved and NBA commissioner Adam Silver told reporters last week the league will look into the possibility of giving Miami some sort of ‘satisfactory relief’ since Rozier can’t play and he’s earning $26.6 million against the salary cap this season.
The 31-year-old is accused of being part of an illegal betting scheme by alerting gamblers he intended to fake an injury in order to make money off a prop bet related to his performance in a game when he played for the Charlotte Hornets.
Prior to a March 23, 2023, game between the Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans, according to the federal indictment, Rozier told co-defendant Deniro Laster that he planned to prematurely remove himself from the game in the first quarter due to injury and not return to play. Rozier had not been listed on the injury report.
Federal authorities allege Laster then sold the information to co-defendant Marves Fairley, and more than $200,000 in prop bets were subsequently placed on Rozier’s ‘unders’ for the game. Rozier played 9 minutes, 34 seconds for the Hornets in the game before leaving with an injury and finished ‘under’ his prop bet totals for points, assists and 3-pointers.
The indictment also states that once Laster collected his cut of the winnings from Fairley in Philadelphia, he drove from Philadelphia to Rozier’s home in Charlotte and counted the money with Rozier during the early morning hours of April 1, 2023. Rozier did not appear in another game that season for the Hornets.
Rozier’s motion countered, however, the federal government’s money laundering case is predicated on the alleged wire fraud that it believes should also be dismissed. ‘Moreover,’ according to the motion, ‘the indictment fails to allege an essential element of money laundering conspiracy: that Mr. Rozier agreed to commit the offense.’
‘The indictment does not allege that Mr. Rozier ever placed a bet, whether himself or through a proxy, on any NBA game,’ Trusty wrote in the motion to dismiss. ‘Nor does it allege that he knew that Laster intended to sell this information to others, or that using it to place wagers would violate the betting companies’ rules.’
Rozier, Jones and former NBA player Jontay Porter were each accused of providing inside information for the illegal gambling scheme as part of the investigation. Porter was banned for life from playing in the NBA in April 2024 and pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in July 2024.
Joseph Nocella Jr., the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, called it ‘one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States’ during an Oct. 23 news conference announcing the indictments in the two cases.
Rozier’s motion filed Tuesday included reference to that moment, and noted ‘countless instances of speakers blurring Mr. Rozier’s case with a 31-defendant indictment that alleges Mafia involvement and several examples of condemning Mr. Rozier’s morality, rather than describing criminal allegations.’
‘Charging the alleged wagering scheme as a federal wire fraud conspiracy runs counter to the Supreme Court’s repeated warnings against using the federal fraud statutes to federalize state matters and criminalize civil matters,’ Trusty wrote. ‘Contrary to the theory underlying the indictment here, the federal wire fraud statute does not vest the government with the general power to enforce its view of integrity in sports wagering.’
