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Mike Vorkunov: Federal prosecutors object to this ask, Rozier and Laster's lawyers told the judge. Lawyers for Rozier also said in the letter that "NBA recently produced objective medical records which demonstrate conclusively that Mr. Rozier was hurt" in the March 23, 2023 game in question.
At the time, the Hornets — the woebegone, injury-plagued Hornets — were roughly 30 games under .500 and going nowhere fast, except to the lottery. “Losing a lot of games by 20, 30, 40 points, and we had 6 or 7,000 fans in the crowd, which felt pretty lifeless,” Plotkin admits. But they’d also just traded for Grant Williams and Seth Curry, the son of Mr. Hornet, Dell Curry, which they thought would have season-ticket holders over the moon. They had somehow unloaded the controversial Terry Rozier for a first-round pick. They also were about to hire a prodigy named Jeff Peterson to be GM. How PO’d could the season-ticket holders be? Pretty PO’d.
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Prosecutors have alleged Rozier told Laster he would leave a March 23, 2023 game between his Charlotte Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans early with an injury. Laster allegedly provided sports bettors with that information, allowing the bettors to make bets on the under on Rozier's statistics. Rozier and Laster allegedly agreed to a roughly $70,000 bribe for that information.
Mike Vorkunov: A lawyer for US Attorney's Office for EDNY and the federal judge overseeing the case both said that feds didn't mean to imply Terry Rozier was part of a gang in the filing in tweet below. "The gov't is not alleging that Mr. Rozier is part of a gang," a DOJ lawyer said in court.
Federal prosecutors want to put Terry Rozier’s childhood friend and alleged co-conspirator back in jail over claims he has tried to influence witnesses, including through threats. Rozier’s attorney says this is a “desperate attempt” by the government to portray the former NBA guard and his associates in a negative light. De’Niro Laster was first charged in the government’s sprawling sports betting case last October. According to the indictment, Rozier—while he was still on the Hornets—informed Laster he would pretend to be hurt and prematurely take himself out of a March 2023 game. Laster then allegedly sold that information to multiple co-conspirators, who bet the under on multiple Rozier lines for about $100,000.
Laster, who has been free on bond, has violated the conditions of his release, according to the government, which has accused him of obstructing justice and tampering with witnesses by attempting to influence their testimony and intimidating them, including through social media posts. “The government must prepare for trial and should not be put in the untenable position of having to instead direct its efforts towards constantly re-investigating a defendant on bond who is repeatedly attempting to tamper with the judicial process,” prosecutors said in a significantly redacted 13-page letter filed with the Eastern District of New York on Wednesday.
The government also has concerns about a “crew” called “GMB” that includes Laster, Rozier, and other friends. Prosecutors say that group has shown they have “access to guns” through photos on social media posted prior to the charges that were brought in this case. The “online flaunting of gun access” has contributed to the government’s concerns about potential threats. Rozier’s attorney, David Markus, tells Front Office Sports that “GMB” stands for “Get More Blessings.” That’s the motto of Rozier’s nonprofit foundation, 12 Blessings, he says, which “raises money to empower disadvantaged kids.”
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“The nickname started with Terry’s high school basketball team,” Markus says. “The government’s attempt to imply that it was some sort of criminal organization is absurd. Terry has never been charged with any firearms offense or with intimidating a witness, and nothing in this filing alleges that he did either. It is nothing more than a dog whistle and a desperate attempt by the government to taint Terry because it sees its case is falling apart.” “In this case, GMB stands for ‘government’s massive blunder,’” Markus adds.
Terry Rozier has asked a federal judge to throw out two of the four charges brought against him over the last year by the U.S. Department of Justice. In a new filing Friday, lawyers for Rozier said that the NBA veteran never agreed to manipulate his performance for the sake of sports gamblers and that Rozier did not know that anyone was betting on his stats during a March 23, 2023, game while he was with the Charlotte Hornets, as federal prosecutors have alleged.