A wild text exchange between co-conspirators allegedly indicate one way Beasley manipulated games.
Former NBA players Malik Beasley and Edward Davis were indicted with four others in the Eastern District of New York on Monday, accused by federal prosecutors of conspiring to manipulate performances in games for the benefit of gamblers.
Beasley is accused of being recruited into the scheme as a means to pay off gambling debts to Davis.
Co-conspirators William Brown, 39, Robert Gorodetsky, 34, Ernesto Plascencia, 39, and Paolo Zamorano, 39, who has been a registered NBA player agent since 1995, are charged with wire fraud conspiracy, bribery in sporting contests, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. Federal prosecutors claim in documents unsealed in the EDNY that the group successfully conspired to bribe Beasley to underperform in games and share inside information so that bets on certain prop bets could be successfully wagered upon.
According to charging documents, Davis was known by the other co-conspirators as the “gatekeeper” to Beasely in a conspiracy that ran from December 2023 through April 2024. Beasley, 29, is alleged to have agreed to attempt to both underperform and overperform in certain statistical categories in different games, passing the information to co-conspirators through Davis. Bribes were typically paid, prosecutors claim, “by having Beasley’s gambling debts to Davis, 37, reduced or paid off.” The indictment claims that Beasley had amassed “multi-million dollar gambling losses.”
Prosecutors assert that ”hundreds of thousands of dollars” worth of wagers were placed based on inside information about Beasley’s manipulation.
Each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment for both the wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy counts, and five years for bribery in sporting contests.
Beasley Once Reported to Have Been Cleared
In August 2025, ESPN reported that the EDNY had confirmed that Beasley had been cleared of any potential wrongdoing in the investigation that led to the conviction of former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter and has former Miami Heat player Terry Rozier set to stand trial on corruption charges in February. Beasley was originally investigated by the NBA for tanking rebound props in a game against Portland.
Beasley had reportedly been in talks with the Pistons for a contract worth upwards of $42 million his potential involvement in a gambling plot became known within the NBA. He vociferously proclaimed his innocence on social media after accusations left him as an unsigned free agent despite averaging 16.3 points per game in the 2024-25 season for Detroit and finishing second in NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award voting.
The indictment listed three unidentified sportsbooks as victims of the scheme. Among its unindicted co-conspirators, according to court documents, is an assistant coach for a Division II men’s basketball team.
A Second From ‘Being Down Thousands’
Here is a list of games Beasley is accused of manipulating, followed by a text exchange that allegedly occurred between co-conspirators during one of them.
January 26, 2024: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Beasley, according to prosecutors, informed Davis that he intended to come in under his projected rebounds total against the Cavaliers, knowing the information would be used to place bets. Davis then informed Gorodetskty, Plascencia (who then informed Brown) and Zamorano. “Many” of the fraudulent wagers were successful, according to the indictment.
Milwaukee fell to the Cavaliers 112-110, with Beasley grabbing three rebounds in 26 minutes, 51 seconds of playing time. The betting line on his rebound total was 3.5.
Beasley averaged 11.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game for the season.
February 27, 2024: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Charlotte Hornets
Beasley, in exchange for a bribe, allegedly told Davis of his intent to “underperform with respect to points and overperform with respect to rebounding in the game,” according to charging documents. The co-conspirators disseminated the information among the group and, again, “many” of the wagers cashed, according to federal prosecutors.
The Bucks improved to 38-21 by routing the 15-43 Hornets, 123-85. Beasley scored six points and secured four rebounds in 26:11 of game time. His props were for 12.5 points and four rebounds.
Targeting a game that the conspirators found beneficial because it wasn’t nationally televised, bettors allegedly netted a $77,187.60 profit.
March 10, 2024: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Beasley allegedly targeted overperformance in rebounding and informed Davis to obtain a bribe. The information was shared among the co-conspirators with many of them again finishing successfully, according to charging documents.
In a 124-117 win, Beasley managed four rebounds in 38:40, going over the line set at 3.5.
Prosecutors logged a contemporaneous text chat moments after Beasley secured his last rebound in the final seconds of the game:
BROWN: OMGGGGGGGG …HE GOT 1 REB WITH 1.1 second left…FAMMMMMMMMMM…NO WAY…He pushed [teammate Pat] Connaughton outta the way lmaoooooooo
PLASCENCIA: Show me dawg
BROWN: Contested it and got the board lol
PLASCENCIA: Bruh
BROWN: Fam, we were 1.1 secs from being down thousands lol
PLASCENCIA: What’s funny is after he got it he had a big sigh of relief
Unindicted Co-Conspirators
According to a press release dated June 29, “several of the defendants were arrested today at locations across the country and will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date.”
The indictment lists “other relevant individuals,” alleged bettors who live in New York and Arizona, and a Colorado resident who played D-1 men’s basketball from approximately 2008 through 2010 for Zamorano’s alma mater (the University of San Francisco, according to Sports Reference).
Dontae Bryant, listed as an assistant coach for the Colorado State University-Pueblo men’s basketball team, played at USF from 2008-2010.
Gambling Insider reached out to Bryant and the CSU-Pueblo athletic department for comment.
“As alleged, the defendants turned professional basketball into a criminal betting operation, bribing then-NBA player Malik Beasley to fix his performance in multiple games in order to place fraudulent wagers, enrich themselves and cheat legitimate sportsbooks,” Joseph Nocella Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “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. Our office will continue in its strong tradition of holding accountable anyone who seeks to corrupt sports through illegal means.”
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section.
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