Former NBA Player Malik Beasley Negotiating Plea Deal in Federal Gambling Case: Attorney Expects Direction in Coming Days
Steve Haney, attorney for former NBA player Malik Beasley, said on Saturday, October 24, that Beasley is negotiating a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in his federal gambling case, with an expected direction in the coming days. Haney told The Associated Press in a text message that they were negotiating an agreement with the government 'with an expected direction in the coming days.' According to ESPN, a recent notice on the court docket indicated that Beasley intends to plead guilty, and Haney told ESPN a decision is expected early next week. Beasley has not yet formally pleaded guilty.
Beasley, 29, was indicted in June in federal court in New York on charges of bribery in sporting contests, wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, and pleaded not guilty to all counts in July. He was among six people charged in an indictment unsealed this summer in a sweeping federal gambling investigation that has involved more than three dozen arrests. Sports agent Paolo Zamorano and former NBA player Ed Davis have also pleaded not guilty.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York alleges that, while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2023-24 season, Beasley deliberately under- or over-performed bookmakers' expectations in at least four games so that bettors could profit. In exchange, the indictment says, the bettors bribed Beasley and his debts to Davis were reduced or eliminated. The indictment alleges Beasley lost millions of dollars gambling during his career, and quotes a January 26, 2024 text from Davis to Beasley: 'Only way you can beat Vegas is sports betting. Everything else they got the edge.'
A first-round pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Beasley averaged 11.7 points in 578 games over nine seasons with the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, Bucks and Detroit Pistons, earning nearly $60 million. He last played in the NBA for the Pistons in the 2024-25 season. Whether he formally changes his plea awaits the court's next steps.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Malik Beasley 本人资料照片（2020年1月效力于 Denver Nuggets 期间）。照片：All-Pro Reels 摄，CC BY-SA 2.0，经维基共享资源。 / File photo: Malik Beasley with the Denver Nuggets in January 2020. Photo by All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-24Former NBA Player Malik Beasley Negotiating Plea Deal in Federal Gambling Case: Attorney Expects Direction in Coming DaysThis story
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