An indictment unsealed in Brooklyn on Thursday indicates that at least one fraudulent bet may have been made based on inside information about the N.B.A. star LeBron James, though Mr. James has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
That indictment, on a case officials called “Nothing but bet,” accused the Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Damon Jones, a former N.B.A. player and coach, of selling nonpublic information about games and players to gamblers who then used that inside information to place bets.
The indictment says that Mr. Jones used his relationship with an unnamed “Player 3,” the Los Angeles Lakers and other personnel to give insider medical information to his co-conspirators.
The indictment says Mr. Jones was a former teammate and coach of the Player 3, who was described as a “prominent N.B.A. player.”
Mr. Jones played with Mr. James on the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005 to 2008, during which time the two became close friends. Mr. Jones was an assistant coach for the Cavaliers from 2016 to 2018, during Mr. James’s second stint with the team, and was his personal shooting coach. Mr. James joined the Lakers before the 2018-19 season.
A spokesman for Mr. James declined to comment.
The indictment says on the morning of Feb. 9, 2023, Mr. Jones sent a text message to a co-conspirator informing him that Player 3 would not play for the Lakers against the Milwaukee Bucks that night.
“Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out!” Mr. Jones said in the message, according to the indictment.
The indictment notes that Player 3 did not play that night because of a lower-body injury. Official records show that Mr. James did not play against Milwaukee because of a sore left ankle. The game came two days after Mr. James set the N.B.A.’s regular-season career scoring record.
Tania Ganguli writes about money, power and influence in sports and how it impacts the broader culture.
Jonah E. Bromwich covers criminal justice in the New York region for The Times. He is focused on political influence and its effect on the rule of law in the area’s federal and state courts.
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