Ed Davis, who played for the UNC men’s basketball team from 2008 through 2010 and helped the Tar Heels win the 2009 national title, is among six former NBA players who are being charged with conspiracy, bribery and money laundering as the result of a federal investigation.
An indictment published Monday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York says Davis and others illegally profited off manipulated performances by Malik Beasley when Beasley played for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024. Though Davis did not play for the Bucks at that time, the two played together for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2020 and 2021. Davis played for the Puerto Rican professional team Cangrejeros de Santurce in 2024.
According to the indictment, “several” of the defendants were arrested Monday and will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date.
The indictment lists three specific instances of Beasley manipulating his statistics, either by deliberately overperforming or underperforming, while Davis and others placed fraudulent wagers with prior knowledge of Beasley’s intentions. For example, prior to a Jan. 26, 2024 game between the Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Beasley informed Davis that he intended to underperform with respect to rebounding. Davis and other co-conspirators then placed wagers based on this information, many of which were successful. The next month, prior to a game against the Charlotte Hornets, Beasley informed Davis that he intended to underperform with respect to points and overperform with respect to rebounding, and the scheme went into effect again.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Davis became known to other co-conspirators as Beasley’s “gatekeeper,” and that in return for fixing his performance, Beasley received bribes from the other co-conspirators. The indictment says these bribes typically came in the form of “having Beasley’s gambling debts to Davis reduced or paid off.”
“These defendants allegedly operated an illegal betting ring in an attempt to unlawfully earn hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge for the FBI’s New York Field Office. “As alleged, Malik Beasley allowed himself to be bought and altered his gametime performance to line the pockets of Ed Davis and his other co-conspirators.”
In total, Beasley, Davis and the other defendants are charged with wire fraud conspiracy, bribery in sporting contests, honest services wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says if convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud conspiracy counts, 20 years on the money laundering conspiracy count and five years on the bribery in sporting contests count.
ESPN first reported Beasley was the subject of a federal gambling probe in June 2025. At the time, Beasley was in talks with the Detroit Pistons on a new contract, but those talks were “on pause,” according to the report. Beasley did not play for an NBA team during the 2025-26 season.
Monday’s arrests come after more than 30 people – including Portland Trail Blazers head coach and former Pistons star Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Cavaliers assistant coach and former player Damon Jones – were arrested in October 2025 as part of the federal investigation. ESPN reported the defendants “had access to private information known by NBA players or NBA coaches that would likely affect the outcome of games or players’ performances,” before sharing that information with other co-conspirators in exchange for “either a flat fee or a share of betting profits.” FBI director Kash Patel referred to the scandal as an “insider trading saga for the NBA.” In April, Jones became the first person in the scandal to plead guilty.
Davis arrived at UNC prior to the 2008-09 season as a five-star recruit. He appeared in all 38 of the Tar Heels’ games as a true freshman and started two, averaging 6.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game as Carolina won its sixth national title. He was elevated to a starting role the next season, though he only played in 23 of 37 games. Davis remained productive in those appearances, averaging 13.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. He then declared for the NBA Draft and was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the No. 13 overall pick. He played for eight NBA teams between 2010 and 2022.
Featured image via Associated Press/Andy Clayton-King
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