Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was assessed an $8 million tax lien from the IRS in 2023, ESPN reported Tuesday, occurring the same year that he allegedly manipulated his performance to aid a sports betting plot.
The lien could help explain Rozier’s motivations for allegedly taking part in the scheme, for which he was arrested last week in Florida in connection with a federal investigation into illicit gambling.
The FBI named Rozier as a conspirator, along with former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones, in a ring that used “inside information to profit” from sports wagers.
In an indictment from the U.S. Justice Department, Rozier was accused of tipping off longtime friend Deniro Laster that he planned to leave a game for the Charlotte Hornets game early by feigning an injury. Laster and other conspirators then used that knowledge to “place and direct more than $200,000 in wagers predicting Rozier’s ‘under’ statistics (i.e., that Rozier would underperform).”
They face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The NBA had previously investigated suspicious prop bets placed on Rozier’s unders in 2023 but did not find evidence he had violated league rules. The league placed Rozier on leave last week following the indictment and his arrest.
As for the tax lien, it was filed in November 2023 in Broward County, Florida, per documents that ESPN obtained. It’s addressed to a company incorporated in California called GMB Chronicles that is affiliated with Rozier, including owning trademark rights to his nickname, “Scary Terry.”
Rozier’s attorney Jim Trusty had not yet responded to ESPN about the lien finding. In a previous statement, Trusty said Rozier is “not a gambler” and he “looks forward to winning this fight.”
