LeBron James’ high school teammate and long-standing business partner Maverick Carter admitted to illegally placing bets on the NBA in 2021, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Carter told federal agents as much during an investigation into bookie Wayne Nix, who ran an illegal sports gambling ring that encompassed many former and current players across American sports, according to federal prosecutors.
During the interview in Nov. 2021, Carter said he “could not remember placing any bets on the Lakers,” according to a report that summarized the interview.
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A spokesperson for Carter repeatedly declined to answer questions about James and said that Carter’s sports bets “had nothing to do with [LeBron].” Carter said in the federal report that he did not place bets for people other than himself.
Carter has been partnered with James since the latter entered the league in 2003, having been anointed as “The Chosen One.” Carter and James had both attended St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. Alongside Rich Paul, the trio are considered among the most powerful people in basketball.
Carter and his lawyers said he made about 20 bets ranging from about $5,000 to $10,000 on football and basketball games over the course of a year. The bookie Nix’s partner Edon Kagasoff told a “business manager for a professional basketball player” via text that he could increase his bets to a maximum of $25,000 for NBA games.
Carter was never charged for being a part of the scheme and served merely as a witness, his spokesperson told the Washington Post. Nix faces up to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business.