Rozier is accused of telling a friend, his co-defendant Deniro Laster, he planned to exit early, blaming an injury, so he could sell that information to other bettors who could then win prop bets on his underperformance. According to prosecutors, Rozier solicited a $100,000 bribe in turn.<\/p>\n
In Friday\u2019s filing, Rozier pointed to a text message that prosecutors turned over in discovery from March 29, 2023 \u2014 \u201cas the alleged proceeds related to the March 23 game were being collected\u201d \u2014 in which Laster writes to a third party, \u201cDont tell chum bout the bet.\u201d One of Rozier\u2019s nicknames is \u201cChum.\u201d The recipient answered, \u201cHell no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis should end the case. One does not hide a bet from the person who supposedly sold it,\u201d Rozier argued in the motion<\/a> filed by his attorney David Markus of Markus\/Moss PLLC.<\/p>\n Prosecutors addressed the claim in a footnote in their reply: \u201cThe government\u2019s investigation has developed evidence from multiple sources that this text chain does not relate to sports gambling.\u201d<\/p>\n Rozier also argued prosecutors failed to state an offense in counts three and four, and that the latter repeats a count under the same statute from the initial indictment, making the superseder multiplicitous.<\/p>\n Rozier, 32, pleaded not guilty to the\u00a0charges<\/a> in the superseder as well as the two in his initial indictment: bribery in sports and money laundering conspiracy.<\/p>\n Prosecutors objected<\/a> to his dismissal request, saying Rozier has been charged with four \u201cdistinct but related crimes.\u201d They urged U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall to deny the request \u2014\u00a0and to deny Rozier\u2019s earlier motion to dismiss the first two counts of his indictment.<\/p>\n Rozier\u2019s co-defendant Marves \u201cVez\u201d Fairley, a 40-year-old sports betting influencer who goes by \u201cVezino Locks\u201d on Instagram, pleaded guilty in May to seven counts<\/a> including bribery, wire fraud and money laundering.<\/p>\n \u201cI agreed to pay a player to change their game performance to give me an advantage on bets I placed for myself and others,\u201d Fairley told U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Marutollo.<\/p>\n Fairley admitted he worked with \u201cother people\u201d to obtain nonpublic information and used it in bets. \u201cI also placed bets on behalf of players\u201d who provided inside information, he said.<\/p>\n Rozier, whose trial is set for February 2027<\/a>, is also seeking to move his case from the Eastern District of New York to the Southern District of Florida, where he lives.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is not alleged to have set foot here in connection with this case, to have placed or directed a single wager here, or to have sent or received so much as a phone call or a dollar here,\u201d his team said in a Friday filing.<\/p>\n Rozier is out on a $3 million bond secured by his South Florida home. He\u2019s barred from gambling in person or online.<\/p>\n The charges effectively ended Rozier\u2019s NBA career, he\u2019s argued in court, since he is also barred<\/a> from contacting a list of players including former Charlotte Hornets teammates who may be called as trial witnesses. He last played for the Miami Heat during the 2024-25 season.<\/p>\n Federal prosecutors initially charged<\/a> Rozier last October, at the same time they brought a separate indictment against NBA players and purported mob members and affiliates. In that case, NBA coach Chauncey Billups is among the players accused of using his \u201cface card\u201d to draw high rollers to rigged poker games run by the Bonanno, Gambino and Genovese crime families.<\/p>\n More than a dozen defendants have taken guilty pleas in the poker case, which originally involved 31 men, narrowing the group that will go to trial. A November trial date has been set but the government is seeking to push the proceeding to early 2027 as plea negotiations continue.<\/p>\n Our weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing
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