Former UNC standout Ed Davis among ex-NBA players charged in federal gambling investigation

NEW YORK (AP/WNCN) — Former University of North Carolina standout Ed Davis has been indicted alongside former NBA player Malik Beasley in the latest round of charges in the government’s widening gambling investigation, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Read more LIVE UPDATES: Large law enforcement presence at North Carolina jail

Davis, who played for the Tar Heels from 2008 to 2010 before becoming the No. 13 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, was among six people named in an indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn. He averaged 13.4 points and 9.6 rebounds during his sophomore season for the Tar Heels prior to declaring for the NBA draft.

When Beasley was playing for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024, he agreed to tailor his performance based on prop bet trends in those games, prosecutors alleged.

U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said Beasley and others “turned professional basketball into a criminal betting operation.”

The schemes, he added, “erode the integrity of American sports and victimize the sports-watching public.”

Beasley’s attorney was not immediately available for comment. The identity of Davis’ lawyer was not immediately known.

Nocella said the scheme involved hundreds of thousands of dollars. Six people were named in the indictment unsealed in Brooklyn. Davis, who has been out of the NBA since 2022, was among those placing bets on Beasley’s performance, the indictment states.

In April, former NBA player Damon Jones, 49, became the first person to plead guilty in a gambling sweep that led to the arrests of more than 30 people, including reputed mobsters and other basketball figures.

Read more Gotham signs Australian striker Sam Kerr through the 2030 season

Jones entered guilty pleas to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in schemes to defraud major sportsbooks, including DraftKings and FanDuel, and filch millions of dollars from unwitting poker players.

He said he used “insider information” through his relationships in the NBA to gain an edge in sports bets.

Beasley last played for the Detroit Pistons in 2024-25, averaging 16 points. He is one of five players in NBA history with more than 300 3-pointers in a season, but has not played in the NBA since because of the investigation. He played briefly for a team in Puerto Rico earlier this year.

Davis was a journeyman who was primarily a backup in a 12-year career that got him roughly $48 million in gross salary. He and Beasley briefly were teammates in Minnesota in the 2020-21 season.

One of the biggest figures in the sprawling gambling investigation is Chauncey Billups, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame who was coach of the Portland Trail Blazers when he was charged last year.

Billups is accused of participating in a conspiracy to fix high-stakes card games tied to La Cosa Nostra organized crime families that cheated unsuspecting gamblers out of at least $7 million. He has pleaded not guilty.

Another key figure is Terry Rozier, who was on the Miami Heat when he was charged in 2025. Rozier is accused of conspiring with friends to help them win bets on his performance during a 2023 game when he played for the Charlotte Hornets. He, too, has pleaded not guilty.

Read more Former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson reveals he has been diagnosed with ALS