Friend of Warriors’ Butler indicted as part of federal gambling investigation; Butler not named

A friend of Warriors star Jimmy Butler was indicted in federal court this week on charges of running an alleged sports gambling scheme.

Ernesto Plascencia was one of six people indicted in federal court on Monday morning, including former NBA players Malik Beasley and Ed Davis, on charges of bribery in sporting contests, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, honest services wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The indictment described Plascencia, 39, as having “maintained a friendship with, among others, the defendant Edward Davis, as well as multiple other former and current NBA players, during the relevant period.”

Butler is not named in the indictment and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

The charges stem from alleged actions between December of 2023 and April of 2024. Butler did not join the Warriors until 2025, and none of the games mentioned in the indictment involved the Miami Heat, Butler’s team at the time.

The Warriors declined to comment when reached about Plascencia’s indictment.

Plascencia was not employed or associated with the Warriors in any capacity.

A source told the Bay Area News Group that Butler and Plascencia were only friends. Plascencia’s Instagram account includes photos with Butler dating back to 2015.

While Plascencia made several appearances at Warriors games as a fan and made numerous social media posts at Golden State games, neither Butler nor any of his businesses, such as Bigface Coffee, ever employed Plascencia.

The indictment alleged Beasley purposefully under- and over-performed statistically in order to influence prop bets made by Plascencia and other co-defendants on Beasley’s individual statistics.

The indictment alleged that Plascencia and the other co-defendants “subsequently used such non-public information relating to Beasley’s intended performance to place fraudulent wagers conditioned on Beasley’s performance in the games at issue, all with the intention of profiting off the scheme at the expense of the Betting Companies.”

The document listed several games in which Beasley allegedly intentionally altered his performances and Plascencia knowingly placed what the government called “fraudulent wagers” as a result.

Beasley last played in the NBA in 2025, when he was a runner-up for sixth man of the year with the Detroit Pistons. He went unsigned last season after the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced he was under a gambling investigation.

Should Plascencia and his co-defendants be found guilty, they will likely be required to forfeit “any property, real or personal, constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of such offenses.”

Federal wire fraud charges can result in sentences of up to 20 years, but sentencing can also be affected by other factors such as mandatory minimums and sentencing guidelines, and could be served consecutively or concurrently alongside sentences from other charges.

The full indictment has been posted on the Justice Department’s website.