NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Miami Heat player pleaded not guilty Monday to charges he helped gamblers placing bets on his performance in NBA games.
The 31-year-old point guard formally entered the plea during his arraignment in federal court in Brooklyn on wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges, and was released on $3 million bond secured by his home in Florida and another property. Prosecutors say Rozier to help them win bets on his performance in a March 2023 game when he played for the Charlotte Hornets.
He was also instructed not to gamble, have firearms or to have any contact with victims, co-defendants and witnesses in the case. Rozier, who’s from Ohio, additionally surrendered his passport and was restricted to traveling between Florida, Ohio and New York unless granted prior approval.
Rozier, wearing a gray suit, didn鈥檛 speak in court other than to answer the judge鈥檚 鈥測es鈥� or 鈥渘o鈥� questions.
He declined to comment afterward, but his lawyer, Jim Trusty, said his client was 鈥渆xcited鈥� to begin mounting his defense against the charges.
Trusty said at a hearing later with the five other defendants in the case that he would soon be filing a motion to dismiss the case based on constitutional grounds.
He also urged the judge to proceed with the case on 鈥渟peedy鈥� timeline, saying Rozier is dealing with 鈥渕ultiple layers of litigation,鈥� including arbitration with the NBA.
But U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall brushed those concerns aside, saying 鈥渁rbitration with the league is of no concern for me.鈥�
She set the next hearing in the case for March 3 after hearing from prosecutors that they would soon be handling over 鈥渧oluminous鈥� amounts of evidence to defense lawyers, including an initial set of 1,000 documents and more than 55 gigabytes of data.
More than 30 people have been arrested in the sprawling of illegal gambling operations linked to professional sports, including several Mafia figures. Portland Trail Blazers coach and NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups has pleaded not guilty in a to fix high-stakes, Mafia-backed illegal poker games.
Prosecutors say Rozier informed the bettors that he intended to leave the game against the early with a supposed injury, allowing gamblers to place wagers earning them tens of thousands of dollars.
Rozier played the first nine minutes and 36 seconds of the game before leaving, citing a foot issue. He did not play again that season.
The other NBA figure ensnared in the investigation is Damon Jones, who last month to charges he provided sports bettors with nonpublic information about injuries to stars and while serving as an unofficial assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2022-2023 season. Jones, a former NBA player, is also indicted along with Billups and others in the separate poker scheme.
Both Billups and Rozier have been placed on from their teams as their court cases play out.
Rozier has earned about $160 million over a 10-year NBA career. He was a first-round pick for the Boston Celtics in 2015 after starring at the University of Louisville. Charlotte last year.
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