Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier posted $3 million bail using his Florida mansion during a Brooklyn federal court appearance on Monday. The 31-year-old pleaded not guilty to charges related to an NBA betting scandal involving inside information on games. Prosecutors indicated plans for plea negotiations as the case proceeds.
Miami Heat guard Terry “Scary Terry” Rozier, 31, appeared in Brooklyn federal court on Monday, December 8, 2025, to address his alleged involvement in an NBA betting scandal. Dressed in a striped gray suit, Rozier pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, which carry a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Rozier was arrested in October 2025 during the fourth and final year of his $96 million contract with the Heat. He is accused of providing inside information to childhood friend Deniro Laster about faking an injury and leaving a game early on March 23, 2023, while playing for the Charlotte Hornets. Laster then sold this information for $100,000 to a sports betting group led by Marves “Vezino” Fainley and Shane “Sugar” Hennen. The group allegedly profited hundreds of thousands of dollars by betting the “under” on Rozier’s statistics, knowing he would not achieve them due to his early exit.
Following his arrest, Rozier was suspended by the NBA and is currently not receiving installments of his $26.6 million salary amid an ongoing arbitration dispute with the league. His lawyer, Jim Trusty, stated outside the courtroom that they plan to file a motion to dismiss the case. “We’re excited about litigating a legal motion about legal innocence,” Trusty said.
Judge LaShawn DeArcy Hall noted that plea negotiations will ensue and adjourned the case until March 3, 2026. Fainley and Hennen have also pleaded not guilty. In a related development, prosecutors announced a second indictment charging former NBA player Damon Jones and ex-star Chauncey Billups with involvement in rigged poker games backed by New York mob families.