Marves Fairley is accused of cashing in on insider information from players to place fraudulent bets on games in the U.S. and in China.
BROOKLYN (CN) — A Mississippi sports bettor and social media influencer pleaded guilty Thursday in the sweeping federal gambling case charging dozens of NBA players and high-stakes gamblers with a yearslong scheme to fix games across the globe.
Marves “Vez” Fairley, a 40-year-old sports betting influencer who goes by “Vezino Locks” on Instagram, is accused in a pair of indictments of cashing in on insider information from players to place fraudulent bets on games in the U.S. and in China.
In court Thursday, he admitted to seven counts total, including bribery, wire fraud and money laundering.
Fairley, who wore a forest green mock turtleneck sweater, told the judge he paid players to change their performance so he could place bets for himself and bet on behalf of at least one player: Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, who’s charged in the federal criminal case in Brooklyn.
According to prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York indictment, Fairley paid Rozier’s childhood friend Deniro Laster $100,000 in March 2023 in exchange for a tip that Rozier, who was on the Charlotte Hornets at the time, was going to leave a game against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first quarter.
“I agreed to pay a player to change their game performance to give me an advantage on bets I placed for myself and others,” Fairley told U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Marutollo.
Fairley admitted he worked with “other people” to obtain non-public information and used it in bets. “I also placed bets on behalf of players” who provided inside information, he said.
Fairley also admitted he paid NCAA players and professional basketball players within the Chinese Basketball Association “to change their performance in games so myself and others could place bets.” That part of his allocution stems from bribery and wire fraud charges originally brought in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania but transferred in April to the Eastern District of New York.
In February 2024, for instance, Fairley said he placed bets “based on information I received from others that players from La Salle University were going to intentionally perform poorly” in a game against St. Bonaventure.
Eric Siegle of the firm Siegle & Sims represents Fairley. He declined to comment following the hearing.
Fairley is set to be sentenced in February 2027. The wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud charges each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years. Bribery in sporting contests carries a five-year maximum sentence.
Marutollo indicated Fairley will have to pay $676,700 in forfeiture, in addition to mandatory restitution.
Awaiting sentencing, Fairley will remain out on a $200,000 bond secured by his wife, his church pastor and the superintendent of schools in Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi, where he lives.
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