1st defendant sentenced in NBA gambling scheme gets 2 years in prison

Terry Rozier #2 of the Miami Heat in action against the Boston Celtics during the second half at Kaseya Center on February 10, 2025, in Miami, Florida. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

(BROOKLYN) — A federal judge in Brooklyn handed down a two-year prison sentence Wednesday to a gambler who prosecutors say defrauded sports betting platforms by using non-public information to place highly profitable wagers tied to the performance of NBA players allegedly in on the scheme.

Timothy McCormack is the first defendant to be sentenced for his role in a sweeping conspiracy allegedly involving former NBA players Terry Rozier and Jontay Porter that McCormack blamed on a gambling addiction.

“I’ve struggled with a gambling addiction for more than half my life,” McCormack said.

Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall expressed some sympathy. “He has an addiction,” she said. “I don’t believe the conduct Mr. McCormack engaged in defines him.”

The judge also agreed with federal prosecutors that McCormack undermined the integrity in sports.

“There is no question this is a serious crime,” DeArcy Hall said. “Sports matters to me as an individual, as it should to society.”

The sentence fell below the four-year sentence the government sought.

A federal prosecutor conceded McCormack was “not as culpable as some of his co-conspirators” but said he contributed to a “cold, hard fraud.”

“Without people like the defendant, these schemes can’t work,” the prosecutor, David Berman, told the judge.

Defense attorney Jeffrey Chartier pushed for a sentence without prison time.

“He was a degenerate gambler,” Chartier said. “It’s one of the ones you could make a movie about.”

Chartier said the betting platforms are “thriving” off of people like his client and told reporters there is “absolutely” some irony in the fact those betting platforms are considered victims in the case.

Porter, a former Toronto Raptor player, pleaded guilty in 2024 to a single count of wire fraud conspiracy in connection with a gambling scheme. He was banned for life from the league and is awaiting sentencing.

Former Miami Heat star Rozier faces federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering. He has pleaded not guilty.

McCormack must report to prison April 20. He then must serve a year of supervised release during which time the judge said he is prohibited from gambling. The judge omitted a secondary prohibition on traveling to a casino, finding it unnecessary.

“Gambling is available on anybody’s phone,” DeArcy Hall said.

An NBA memo from October obtained by ABC News said, “With sports betting now occupying such a significant part of the current sports landscape, every effort must be made to ensure that players, coaches, and other NBA personnel are fully aware of the dire risks that gambling can impose upon their careers and livelihoods; that our injury disclosure rules are appropriate; and that players are protected from harassment from bettors.”