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Tom Shadd
multiple authors
Former NBA player Malik Beasley is negotiating a plea deal with Justice Department lawyers over his alleged role in a bribery and betting scheme, one of his attorneys confirmed Saturday.
An overnight court notice indicated that Beasley, who played for six NBA teams in a nine-year career, intends to plead guilty in the case. Attorney Steve Haney told ESPN in a text message that Beasley has not signed a plea agreement with prosecutors, but negotiations are ongoing and a decision is expected early this week.
A spokesperson for the Eastern District of New York did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about the case.
Prosecutors allege that Beasley, 29, knowingly manipulated his statistics in at least four games during the 2023-24 season when he was with the Milwaukee Bucks so that gamblers could bet on his performance and win.
According to the indictment, his co-defendants selected games that would not be nationally televised and Beasley decided whether he would underperform or outperform his scoring and rebounding.
Although he earned millions of dollars during his career, according to the indictment, Beasley also suffered “multimillion-dollar gambling losses” while being part of the alleged scheme.
Beasley faces federal charges of bribery in sports competitions, wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. He initially pleaded not guilty to all charges.
However, late Friday night, the judge overseeing his case asked a federal magistrate in Brooklyn to schedule a hearing to change Beasley’s plea. The judge filed a similar order Friday for Ernesto Plascenya, another defendant in the case. Placencia’s attorney confirmed Saturday morning that he will enter a guilty plea.
One of the other defendants in the case, William Brown, pleaded guilty earlier this month, while fellow sports bettor Robert Gorodetsky is expected to formally enter a guilty plea on November 20.
Former NBA players Ed Davis and Paolo Zamorano, who was Davis’ agent, were also charged in the case and pleaded not guilty.
ABC News contributed to this report.