Maverick Carter, manager of LeBron James, tells federal law enforcement he bet on NBA games through an illegal bookie: Report

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Maverick Carter, the business manager for former Cavaliers forward LeBron James, told federal investigators he had bet on multiple NBA games through an illegal bookie according to Gus Garcia-Roberts of the Washington Post.

Carter spoke to agents in November of 2021 as part of their investigation into former minor league baseball player Wayne Nix, who pled guilty to charges related to running an illegal off-shore betting business.

According to Garcia-Roberts, Carter placed bets on 20 different basketball and football games in the course of a year, but that the bets have “nothing to do” with James. Carter also reportedly told agents that he “could not remember placing any bets on the Lakers.” An indictment revealed that in November of 2019, Edin Kagosoff, Nix’s business partner, texted a “business manager for a professional basketball player” that his wagers on NBA games could go up to $25,000.

Carter also said in that interview with law enforcement that he never made any bets for anyone else.

NBA players as well as team and league officials are not allowed to bet on NBA games. However, business managers are under no such rule.

A spokesman for Carter and James told Garcia-Roberts that Carter was interviewed once for the investigation into Nix and was not charged. He also said the interview took place in 2021 “before 38 states and the District of Columbia legalized sports betting.” Ohio legalized sports betting on Jan. 1, 2023. But in California, the state where James currently plays basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers, sports betting is still not legal.

Carter told investigators that he met Nix through a friend named Jeff from Ohio in either 2017 or 2018. Nix would take along with Carter whenever he was in Las Vegas. Outside of Vegas, the two of them only spoke on the phone. After news of the investigation into Nix, Carter said that he deleted Nix’s number off of his phone per Garcia-Roberts.

Nix had several professional athletes as clients including former Cleveland outfielder Yasiel Puig. The former Indians outfielder pled guilty on Nov. 14, 2022, to a charge of lying to federal investigators and faced a maximum five-year sentence.

In court records, Puig settled part of his debt in 2019 by sending two checks totaling $200,000 to Joey Schottenstein, the son of Ohio State donor and billionaire Jay Schottenstein. According to Garcia-Roberts, investigative reports did not say whether investigators asked Carter if the Jeff who introduced him to Nix was Jeff Schottenstein. Neither a spokesman for Carter nor the Schottensteins replied to a request for comment from Garcia-Roberts.

NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen also told investigators he placed a bet with Nix according to Garcia-Roberts. Investigators confronted Pippen about a bet for the Super Bowl in 2019 in which Nix offered Pippen a bet of $20,000 with a risk of $2,500. After initially telling investigators he initially didn’t remember that bet, Pippen told them he did remember the bet and that Nix “waived” the loss.

Nix faces up to eight years in prison, and his sentencing hearing is scheduled for March of 2024.

To this point, Puig is the only athlete client to be charged in connection with Nix, although that was on the charge of lying to investigators.

Carter and James have been longtime friends going back to their days of growing up together in Akron and attending St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. Carter has been James’ business partner since 2006. Together, they helped to found the SpringHill Company, which is an entertainment company that has multiple different ventures including series like “Uninterrupted” and films such as “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” which James starred in.