Man Sentenced to Two Years for Role in NBA Betting Scheme
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A federal judge in Brooklyn on Wednesday ordered Timothy McCormack to serve two years in prison for using confidential information to place lucrative wagers tied to NBA games, marking the first sentence handed down in a broad betting conspiracy involving players Terry Rozier and Jontay Porter.
McCormack, who described himself in court as a longtime gambling addict, admitted to defrauding multiple sports-betting platforms by wagering on player performance based on inside knowledge. Prosecutors said the scheme centered on manipulating bets involving Rozier and Porter, both of whom face separate criminal cases.
U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall imposed a sentence shorter than the four years sought by prosecutors but rejected the defense request for no prison time. “I don’t believe the conduct Mr. McCormack engaged in defines him,” the judge said, while emphasizing that the crime threatened “the integrity of sports.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Berman acknowledged McCormack’s lesser role compared with other defendants yet called him an essential link in what he described as “cold, hard fraud.”
Rozier, currently on unpaid leave from the Miami Heat, pleaded not guilty in December to charges of wire fraud and money-laundering conspiracy. Authorities allege he helped friends profit from wagers tied to his statistics during a March 2023 game with the Charlotte Hornets. He is free on a $3 million bond and is due back in court in March.
Porter pleaded guilty in 2024 to deliberately removing himself from games to affect wagers. The NBA has banned him, and he is awaiting sentencing.
McCormack is the first of several defendants to be sentenced in the case.
Source: ESPN
