Former NBA guard Malik Beasley pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges that he manipulated his performance during games with the Milwaukee Bucks to enrich sports bettors and help pay off millions of dollars in gambling debts. The 29-year-old appeared for his arraignment in Brooklyn federal court, where he was officially informed of charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery in sporting contests, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Beasley, who last played for the Detroit Pistons in the 2024-25 season, answered a judge’s questions with “yes, your honor” but allowed his attorney, Jason Goldman, to enter the not guilty plea on his behalf. After the hearing, Beasley stood quietly as Goldman spoke to reporters outside the courthouse. Beasley was released on a $100,000 bond and is due back in court for a status conference next month.
His attorney characterized the case differently from prosecutors’ allegations. “The indictment is nothing but a probable cause one-sided charging document. It is not evidence and Malik maintains his presumption of innocence throughout this two-year investigation,” Beasley’s lawyer Steve Haney said. “We ask that people reserve judgment until all the facts are known.”
Federal prosecutors allege that Beasley agreed to tailor his performance based on betting lines during the 2023-24 season while he was with the Milwaukee Bucks. The indictment accuses him of coordinating with former NBA player Ed Davis ahead of games to decide whether he should underperform or overperform on the court. Davis allegedly acted as Beasley’s “gatekeeper” in the scheme, loaning Beasley money to cover his substantial gambling debts and then placing bets based on inside information about how Beasley planned to perform.
Prosecutors say the scheme targeted at least four games. In one example from January 26, 2024, prosecutors allege Beasley told Davis he intended to underperform in rebounding during a Bucks-Cleveland Cavaliers game. Beasley finished with three rebounds, under the betting line of 3.5 rebounds at some sportsbooks. The indictment alleges co-conspirators placed tens of thousands of dollars in wagers on that game.
In another instance on March 10, 2024, during a Milwaukee victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, Beasley dashed past four players to grab a rebound at the last second with the Bucks ahead by seven points. A co-conspirator texted, “What’s funny is after he got it he had a big sigh of relief,” according to the indictment. Beasley finished with four rebounds that night, which was a winning prop bet.
Prosecutors said the scheme failed at least once. During a March 21, 2024, Bucks-Brooklyn Nets game, Beasley was supposed to underperform in rebounds but grabbed six rebounds, well above his 3.7 average that season.
In return for his cooperation, Beasley received bribes from his co-conspirators—payments that were often used to reduce or eliminate debts he owed to Davis. The indictment indicates that Beasley had accumulated millions of dollars in gambling losses despite earning tens of millions of dollars throughout his nine-year NBA career. The scheme involved hundreds of thousands of dollars wagered through popular gambling sites.
Beasley, Davis, sports agent Paolo Zamorano, and three other men—William Brown, Robert Gorodetsky, and Ernesto Plascencia—were named in the indictment unsealed Monday by federal prosecutors in New York. Each defendant faces potential prison sentences of up to 20 years on the wire fraud conspiracy counts and money laundering conspiracy charges, and five years on the sports bribery charge.
Davis and three other defendants were arrested Monday across the country, but Beasley and Zamorano turned themselves in voluntarily. Zamorano also pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, with his attorney Kenneth Breen telling reporters, “These charges are unfounded. Paolo looks forward to his day in court where he will be exonerated.”
The case represents the latest chapter in a sweeping federal gambling investigation that has led to the indictment or conviction of several NBA figures. Earlier this year, former NBA player Damon Jones became the first person to plead guilty in the gambling sweep, entering guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Last year, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, then coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, were charged in related cases. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Federal prosecutors have emphasized the severity of the alleged conduct. U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said the defendants “turned professional basketball into a criminal betting operation.” He added that such schemes “erode the integrity of American sports and victimize the sports-watching public.”
Beasley’s financial troubles have been well documented. A judge ordered him to pay $1 million to his former agency in March after the company alleged he failed to repay a $650,000 marketing advance. He was evicted from his Detroit apartment the previous summer after his landlord sued him for $21,505 in unpaid rent. News of the federal gambling investigation broke in June 2025 just as Beasley was negotiating a three-year, $42 million contract with the Pistons—a deal that ultimately fell apart.
The NBA said in a statement that it is reviewing the federal indictment and will continue investigating while cooperating with authorities. “We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the league said.
Since the investigation became public, Beasley has not played in the NBA. After finishing the 2024-25 season with Detroit—where he averaged 16.3 points per game and made 319 three-pointers on 42 percent shooting, the second-most in the league that season—Beasley sat out the entire 2025-26 season amidst the investigation. He played briefly for a Puerto Rican team earlier this year.