Former NBA guard Malik Beasley is negotiating a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, his attorney said Saturday, four months after Beasley was charged with manipulating his own performance in games while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Steve Haney, Beasley's lawyer, told the Associated Press by text message that they were negotiating with the government "with an expected direction in the coming days," CBS News reported on October 24. The judge has referred the case for a change of plea, but Haney said Beasley had not yet signed a deal, LegalSportsBetting.com reported. Beasley, 29, pleaded not guilty in July and remains presumed innocent unless and until a plea is entered or he is convicted.
The charges
Beasley was one of six people named in an indictment unsealed in Brooklyn federal court in June. All six face four counts, wire fraud conspiracy, bribery in sporting contests, honest services wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
Prosecutors accuse Beasley of fixing or trying to fix his performance in at least four Bucks games in 2024. In exchange, they say, bettors reduced or erased debts he owed to former NBA player Ed Davis. In one example, Beasley allegedly tried to beat a 3.5 rebound prop bet in a March 10, 2024, game against the LA Clippers, chasing down a rebound as time expired to finish with four, the AP reported when the charges were unsealed.
Another allegation involves a January 26, 2024, game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The indictment says Beasley told Davis beforehand that he "intended to underperform with respect to rebounding in the game," according to LegalSportsBetting.com. Bets on the under for his rebounds in that game totaled about $21,228.
When the case was announced, U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said the defendants "turned professional basketball into a criminal betting operation." Haney said at the time that Beasley maintained his presumption of innocence and asked people to "reserve judgment until all the facts are known." Paolo Zamorano, a sports agent who formerly represented Davis, has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer has said he denies wrongdoing.
A widening federal sweep
The Beasley case grew out of a broader federal investigation that became public in October 2025, when 34 people were arrested in two cases. One alleged rigged betting on NBA games and named Terry Rozier, then with the Miami Heat. The other alleged a mafia-backed poker scheme and named Chauncey Billups, then the Portland Trail Blazers coach. Both men pleaded not guilty and have denied the allegations.
The poker indictment charged members of the Bonanno, Genovese and Gambino crime families, a reminder of how federal prosecutors have long used conspiracy and racketeering law against organized crime, a history we covered in How RICO Broke the Old Mob.
Former NBA player Damon Jones became the first defendant in the sweep to plead guilty, in April. In the Beasley case, co-defendant Ernesto Plasencia has also pleaded guilty, and Beasley would be the fourth of the six defendants to do so, LegalSportsBetting.com reported. If the case goes to trial, it is scheduled to begin May 17, 2027.
What comes next
No terms of a deal have been made public. In federal court, a guilty plea is entered before a judge, who must accept it, and sentencing comes later. Until then, the charges remain accusations.
The league has responded on the betting side. The NBA said in June that it would keep cooperating with authorities, and the league and sportsbooks have since adopted new limits, including bans on first basket bets and under props for low minute players, according to LegalSportsBetting.com.
Beasley played for the Detroit Pistons in 2024-25 on a one-year, $6 million deal. It is the kind of case the Two Taps legal panel takes apart on the show.
Two Taps News stories summarize reporting and the analysis discussed on Two Taps and Friends. They are not legal advice. Read our standards.
