- Malik Beasley is likely to plead guilty to federal charges for his involvement in a bribery and betting scheme.
- The judge asked a Brooklyn federal magistrate to schedule a hearing and one of Beasley’s attorneys confirmed plea negotiations to ESPN.
- The NBA passed new sportsbook restrictions that prohibit prop bets used in recent scandals.
NEW YORK – Former NBA player Malik Beasley expects to plea guilty on federal charges stemming from his involvement in a sports betting bribery scheme.
Beasley previously pled not guilty to four federal charges – bribery in sporting contests, money laundering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and honest service wire fraud conspiracy – but a change of plea was referred to by the judge overseeing Beasley’s case.
The potential “change of plea” for Beasley’s upcoming court hearing, paired with Beasley’s attorney confirming plea negotiations with the Department of Justice, suggests the change is imminent. His attorney, Steve Haney, confirmed that Beasley hasn’t signed a plea deal yet, but the decision is expected soon.
The same judge filed a similar order for Ernesto Plasencia, a defendant in the same sports betting and bribery case, who ultimately entered a guilty plea Saturday. Beasley would be the fourth of six defendants to plead guilty. If the case goes to trial, it will begin on May 17, 2027.
According to the indictment, Beasley “together with others, participated in a scheme to influence NBA games by bribery and to defraud the Betting Companies by providing, obtaining and using non-public information relating to such NBA games to place and cause others to place fraudulent sports wagers for profit, and to launder the proceeds thereof.”
NBA’s Integrity Push With Sportsbooks
The direct link between Beasley and the scheme focused on his points and rebounds props to go under, something the NBA’s new restrictions seek to prevent in the future. Prosecutors in the case allege Beasley told the bettors he would intentionally record under 3.5 rebounds in a Jan. 26, 2024 game against the Cleveland Cavaliers during his time with the Milwaukee Bucks.
“Prior to the January 26 Game, the defendant MALIK BEASLEY informed the defendant EDWARD DAVIS that BEASLEY intended to underperform with respect to rebounding in the game. At the direction of the defendant ROBERT GORODETSKY, Co-Conspirator 2 placed multiple bets on BEASLEY’s under rebounds on Betting Company 1’s mobile application totaling approximately $21,228, which profited approximately $14,013.08.”
Beasley formerly played for the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Detroit Pistons across his nine-year career. While he’s not the first player to be involved in a sports betting scheme and certainly not the last, the Malik Beasley betting probe forced the NBA to figure out how to preserve sports integrity.
