BROOKLYN (CN) - NBA guard Terry Rozier will face more charges related to gambling on league games, federal prosecutors said in court Monday.

Government lawyers told U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall that they plan to file a superseding indictment by May 14, which would tack at least two charges onto Rozier's existing case.

Rozier is already accused of intentionally undercutting his performance in at least one NBA game while playing for the Charlotte Hornets to benefit a group of bettors. He has pleaded not guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.

The new charges will include bribery in sports and honest services wire fraud, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin Farrell, who told the court that Rozier "deprived the NBA and the Charlotte Hornets of his honest services" by exiting a 2023 game early with a phony injury.

Prosecutors claim Rozier tipped off a select group of bettors about his plan, allowing them to cash in on more than $200,000 placed on his "under" props. But the impending new indictment would be the first time Rozier is accused of taking a bribe for the charged conduct. 

Prosecutors confirmed the new charges at a hearing on Rozier's motion to dismiss his case, which he claims is based on an improper application of the federal wire fraud statute. Rozier's lawyer James Trusty said the superseding indictment, which he claimed to learn about just two hours before Monday's hearing, is proof the government intends to bring "new theories" to the table to survive the dismissal bid.

"We're not changing our theory," replied Farrell, who said she only told the defense about the possibility of new charges on Monday out of courtesy. 

Hall didn't rule on the dismissal arguments from the bench. But she expressed some skepticism over Trusty's argument that the existing charges against Rozier constituted a "right-to-control" fraud case barred by the Supreme Court under Ciminelli v. United States, a landmark case that held that depriving a party of useful information does not constitute fraud. 

"The government's use of the wire fraud statute is essentially pounding a square peg into a round hole," Trusty said. 

He added that, in this case, "the most you can say is this is a breach of contract," as Rozier may have breached the terms and conditions of the victims - the gambling companies he's accused of defrauding - which require disclosure of insider information. But that would hardly constitute a federal indictment for wire fraud, he claimed. 

Trusty downplayed the significance of those terms and conditions agreements, noting bettors don't have to make them before placing each wager.

"That's not the hill you're dying on," Hall said, seemingly rejecting the argument.

Even if Rozier were to emerge successful following Monday's arguments, the presence of the impending indictment means he'll likely have new charges to thwart. Hall implored the defense to look at the superseding indictment first before determining what new arguments, if any, it will make.

"I'm not going to do this twice," the Barack Obama appointee said at the end of the hearing. 

Both Rozier and Trusty were tight-lipped outside of the courtroom. The only comment from either came from Trusty, who said of the new indictment: "We'll give it a hard look."

Rozier, now a free agent guard after being waived by the Miami Heat earlier this month, has been on a period of indefinite leave since his arrest last fall. The 32-year-old Louisville alum is out on a $3 million bond, secured by his South Florida home. Per his bond agreement, Rozier is barred from gambling both in person and online. 

Prosecutors claim Rozier alerted his childhood friend and co-defendant Deniro Laster that he would be exiting early from the scrutinized March 23, 2023, game between the Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans. Laster then sold that information to other bettors, according to the prosecutors. 

Rozier is additionally charged alongside retired NBA veteran Damon Jones, who is accused of using his connections to the league to dole out insider information to certain bettors. Jones is expected to plead guilty in this case, as well as a related gambling-related probe, on Tuesday.

Source: Courthouse News Service