LeBron James’ longtime close friend and business partner Maverick Carter reportedly admitted to federal investigators in 2021 that he bet on NBA games with an illegal bookmaker.
Carter made the admission to the feds amid an investigation of bookmaker Wayne Nix, who pleaded guilty last year to running a massive offshore gambling ring and filing false tax returns, according to federal law enforcement records obtained by Washington Post.
Carter and James’ spokesperson, Adam Mendelsohn, issued a statement to the outlet indicating that Carter was not a subject of a criminal probe.
“In 2021 and before 38 states and the District of Columbia legalized sports betting, Maverick Carter was interviewed a single time by federal law enforcement regarding their investigation into Wayne Nix,” the statement said. “Mr. Carter was not the target of the investigation, cooperated, was never charged, and never contacted again on the matter.”
Mendelsohn also said that the situation had “nothing” to do with James.
Carter and his legal counsel reportedly told the feds that he wagered $5,000-$10,000 per game, about 20 times over the course of a year, on bets related to basketball or football.
He told the feds that he “could not remember placing any bets on the Lakers,” the report said.
NBA players and agents are barred from betting on games, but the regulations do not apply to business managers.
The NBA and its players association declined to comment to the Washington Post.
Carter and James are partnered in a number of business endeavors, including the media conglomerate SpringHill Company.
The Washington Post reported that former NBA superstar Scottie Pippen also admitted to placing at least one wager with Nix.
Nix reportedly golfed in a members-only tournament at Michael Jordan’s golf club in Florida, but the Washington Post found “no indications” that Jordan had ever placed bets through the bookmaker.
The investigation was conducted by the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security, and Carter and Pippen were reportedly two of dozens of “non-target witnesses” in the case.
Former MLB All-Star Yasiel Puig has been charged with lying to federal authorities in their investigation of Nix’s gambling ring and his trial is set for January.
Puig’s agent said last November that the former Dodger conducted the interview with the feds “feeling rushed, unprepared, without criminal counsel with him, and also lacked his own interpreter.”
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