Ed Davis pleads not guilty to sports bribery, money laundering

Ed Davis, 37, a former NBA forward, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in the Eastern District of New York to four federal charges and was released on a $100,000 bond.

The June 24 indictment charges Davis with one count each of sports bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, honest services fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Court papers describe Davis as the personal conduit of insider information between former teammate Malik Beasley and other participants in an alleged betting scheme.

The indictment alleges the scheme ran from December 2023 through April 2024 and targeted player proposition bets, commonly called prop bets. Prosecutors say Davis helped coordinate efforts in which Beasley agreed to underperform or overperform in specific statistical categories across different games so that bettors could win targeted wagers. The charging documents identify four games said to have been affected.

The complaint states Beasley had multi-million dollar gambling losses and gambling debts to Davis that were reduced or paid off as part of the alleged bribe arrangement. Beasley, 29, was indicted with Davis and pleaded not guilty on July 1. He was released on a $100,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Brooklyn on Aug. 6.

Other individuals named in court filings include Paolo Zamorano, a former registered NBA agent who pleaded not guilty and was released on the same bond terms; former player and coach Damon Jones, identified as a co-conspirator; and alleged co-conspirators William Brown, Robert Gorodetsky and Ernesto Plascencia, who had not been arraigned in the Beasley case as of the filings. A separate defendant, Shanne Hennen, is listed among co-conspirators expected to plead guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy in a related matter.

The indictment sets potential penalties for multiple co-conspirators of up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy counts, and up to five years on the bribery in sporting contests charge.

The charges follow prior federal and league inquiries into alleged gambling improprieties involving other players. Prosecutors have not publicly disclosed all evidence they plan to use at trial. Further pretrial proceedings will determine how the government intends to support the allegations in court.