Eric Earnest, lead defendant in Brooklyn NBA betting case, set to plead guilty on 22 October

The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced on Tuesday that Eric Earnest, 54, intends to plead guilty in the Brooklyn federal sports betting case. Earnest, nicknamed "Spook" in court filings, is the lead defendant and faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The hearing has been referred to US Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Marutollo and is scheduled for 22 October, two days after the NBA regular season begins.

Prosecutors also said Earnest is set to plead guilty in the parallel illegal poker case, US vs Aiello. He, Shane Hennen and Damon Jones are the only defendants charged in both matters. The announcement comes close to the first anniversary of the indictments, which targeted Mafia figures, professional athletes and illegal poker operators. A government elements sheet for the wire fraud count identified four unnamed sportsbook operators as allegedly defrauded. Former NBA players including Terry Rozier, Jontay Porter and Damon Jones have also been indicted over alleged manipulation of wagers.

According to prosecutors, over a 16-month period through March 2024 Earnest and co-conspirators used material non-public information from inside the locker room, such as undisclosed injuries and team tanking plans, to guide a betting syndicate. In one episode, Rozier allegedly told a friend, Deniro Laster, that he planned to leave a March 2023 game early. Prosecutors say Laster, Marves Fairley, Hennen and others then placed more than $200,000 on unders tied to Rozier's performance.

A second episode concerns a 24 March 2023 game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Chicago Bulls. Prosecutors allege a person identified as Co-Conspirator 8 told Earnest the Blazers planned to rest key players. Fairley and associates then reportedly wagered more than $100,000 against Portland before the news was public. Four regular starters, including Damian Lillard and Jerami Grant, sat out the 124-96 loss. Then-coach Chauncey Billups is not named as Co-Conspirator 8, though the description matches him. Billups faces separate charges in the poker case, has maintained his innocence through attorney Marc Mukasey, and has a trial set for early 2027.

Fairley, a professional sports betting tout, pleaded guilty to multiple charges in May, and Jones was the first defendant in the two cases to enter a guilty plea. Earnest was previously sentenced in 2008 to 151 months in prison on money laundering and cocaine conspiracy charges. His lead attorney, Peter Brill, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.