Former Milwaukee Buck Faces Federal Charges for Illegal Gambling
Malik Beasley allegedly over or under performed to help gamblers win bets.
Fiserv Forum. Photo taken April 23, 2024 by Dave Reid.
A former Milwaukee Bucks player has been indicted on illegal sports betting charges for allegedly taking payments to swing his performance when he played for the team.
Malik Beasley played for the Bucks during the 2023-2024 season. A federal indictment filed in the Eastern District of New York said Beasley would underperform or overperform on certain statistics during games so that others could place fraudulent bets.
Beasley was named in the indictment with another former NBA player, Edward Davis, and four others for allegedly cashing in on the bets.
“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,” United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement.
Before a few games during the 2023-2024 season, Beasley would agree with Davis that he would, “underperform, and at times overperform, relative to one or more of his betting statistics in those games,” according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The other people named in the indictment and others would then place fraudulent bets, “with the intention of profiting off the scheme,” the indictment said.
The indictment said Beasley had “accumulated multi-million dollar gambling losses” during his career in the NBA.
“As further alleged, in return for performance fixing, Beasley received bribes from the co-conspirators, typically by having Beasley’s gambling debts to Davis reduced or paid off,” the statement said.
“These defendants allegedly operated an illegal betting ring in an attempt to unlawfully earn hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Federal Bureau of Investigation Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle Jr. said in a statement. “As alleged, Malik Beasley allowed himself to be bought and altered his gametime performance to line pockets of Ed Davis and his other co-conspirators.”
Beasley and the other defendants named in the indictment face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery in sporting contests, honest services wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
An attorney for Beasley could not be reached for comment before this story was published.
Former Milwaukee Bucks player faces federal charges for illegal gambling scheme was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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