Back in October, when federal investigators unsealed an indictment of alleged illegal sports betting — which led to the arrest of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier — it was directly tied to a previous arrest of former Raptor Jontay Porter for using the same prop bet scam. In those indictments, a total of seven games were allegedly impacted.
However, prosecutors say they are investigating other games as well, reports Mike Vorkunov at The Athletic. While there are few details — how many other games are being looked at and whether other players are involved — it appears to tie back to crime figures caught up in the same investigation, according to the report.
One of those men, Timothy McCormack, was sentenced to two years in federal prison last week for his part in the scheme to bet on both the games involving Porter and Rozier. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after he personally placed bets on those games. Lawyers for the Eastern District said that their investigation is ongoing and that he was involved in other games that have not been made public yet.
"The government has ongoing investigations," David Berman, an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, said in court last week. "And our understanding is the defendant has conducted himself in similar manners in other instances as well."
This is not completely unexpected. It was thought that as some of the defendants in the case moved through the legal system, they might provide prosecutors with information — other games, other participants — in exchange for a reduced sentence. That may be what we are witnessing here.
The NBA said it continues to assist federal prosecutors with the case.
The alleged case is that Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and coach Damon Jones (who also had worked with LeBron James when he was with the Lakers) would tip off gamblers with inside information. For example, when Rozier would leave a game early due to injury or illness, allowing the bettors to place money on his prop bet under and win.
Rozier has maintained his innocence throughout this process.
While the investigation is ongoing, it's unclear whether it will ensnare other players. In the wake of the indictment, the NBA made several changes, specifically regarding injury reporting, to prevent the use of inside information before it became public.
