An NBA star charged this week in an explosive criminal gambling racket has a history of legal spats – from a furious baby mama accusing him of ghosting their daughter to a messy memorabilia deal that ended in court.
Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, 31, was taken into custody at the team’s hotel in Orlando Thursday as part of an alleged scam to defraud sportsbooks by placing bets on leaked locker room secrets.
A federal indictment went as far as accusing the veteran player of limping out of a game ‘prematurely’ in 2023 so his pals could cash in by predicting he would barely score any points.
Now, Daily Mail can reveal that Rozier was embroiled in several previous lawsuits including a paternity battle with a Polish bikini model – who blasted the $20million per year phenom for his ‘reckless behavior.’
Monika Jawdynska, 30, complained in a 2020 filing that the celebrated athlete had ‘no interest’ in their daughter Kimberly Sky Rozier, who was born the previous year.
‘The father was not present at her birth nor had any desire to be present,’ her lawyers wrote. ‘The Mother attempts to get the Father involved in the baby’s life but he doesn’t even ask for her pictures.’
Miami-based Jawdynska, who has an online swimwear store and a cooking page on Instagram, savaged Rozier’s attempts to get to know the girl, now six years old, via Skype or Zoom.
‘The fact that the Father has several children scattered throughout the United States makes it very difficult to coordinate a timesharing schedule,’ the suit added.
Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier star status has been ravaged by the allegations that he partook in an explosive criminal gambling scam, but the spotlight has revived scrutiny of his messy legal history
The NBA star was accused by his baby mama, Monika Jawdynska, 30, (right), of ghosting his daughter (center) in a 2020 filing submitted only a year after she was born
The curvy Instagram model accused him of negligence, claiming Rozier skipped their daughter Kimberly Sky Rozier’s birth, made no effort to be involved in her life, and never even asked to see a photo of her
The curvy redhead complained she had no monthly income and had ‘immense need’ of financial support from Rozier who has amassed more than $160million from his decade-long stint in the NBA.
‘A millionaire athlete or movie star should not be treated differently than anyone else. If anything, it only supports his reckless behavior,’ she fumed.
Rozier – nicknamed Scary Terry because of his on-court hustle – accepted the result of a DNA test and insisted he was paying child support voluntarily.
The pair reached a confidential settlement in October 2020 and Rozier appears to have gone on to play an active role in Kimberly’s life, attending her gymnastic events and hosting the mom and daughter at Heat games.
Jawdynska declined to speak about his arrest this week on money laundering and wire fraud charges, telling the Daily Mail: ‘I don’t want to comment. Thank you.’
Rozier was sued again in February 2022 by a Californian company called Athletes Creative Trap (ACT) over a sporting memorabilia deal that allegedly went sour.
According to ACT’s lawyers, the former first round draft pick agreed to sign 400 items including jerseys, balls and photos and post about it on Instagram for $6,000 in cash.
But when the merch was delivered to Rozier’s $6million mansion in Southwest Ranches, Florida, in August 2021 he reneged on an ‘unambiguous, definite, and substantial written promise,’ they claimed.
Rozier leaving the US federal courthouse through a side door. He was ordered by the judge to surrender his passport and was released from the Miami Heat
Rozier used his seven-bed, luxury mansion – pictured here in exclusive Daily Mail photos – as collateral Thursday to secure his release after appearing in Federal Court in Orlando.
The curvy redhead complained she had no monthly income and had ‘immense need’ of financial support from Rozier who has amassed more than $160million from his decade-long stint in the NBA
Rozier would once again find himself in legal trouble in February 2022 by a Californian company called Athletes Creative Trap (ACT) who sued him over a sporting memorabilia deal gone wrong
The proposed deal that Rozier agreed to was to sign 400 items including jerseys, balls and photos and post about it on Instagram for $6,000 in cash
‘Rozier’s associate informed ACT and its agents that Rozier would not be signing any memorabilia and that Rozier was not aware of the number of jerseys he had agreed to sign,’ the suit said.
The firm sued for the cost of flights, hotels and $4,935 worth of jerseys but dropped the case four months later with both sides paying their own legal fees.
Rozier used the same seven-bed, luxury mansion as collateral Thursday to secure his release after appearing in Federal Court in Orlando.
A judge barred him from gambling and ordered him to surrender his passport ahead of his next appearance in New York in December.
Rozier was also placed on immediate leave by the Heat, who traded Kyle Lowry and a first-round draft pick for him in January 2024.
Prior to that he established himself as a regular starter at the Charlotte Hornets, the franchise Rozier was playing for when he went off injured nine minutes into a March 2023 game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
A federal indictment unsealed in the Eastern District of New York claims he tipped off childhood friend Deniro Laster that he was going to ‘prematurely remove himself from the game in the first quarter due to a supposed injury.’
He did so ‘for the purpose of enabling Laster to place wagers based on this information.’
In August 2021, when the jerseys arrived, Rozier’s team said he hadn’t known he would be responsible for that many and refused to follow through – leading the company to sue for $8,456.97, covering flights, hotels and the memorabilia
A federal indictment claims Rozier told childhood friend Deniro Laster he would ‘prematurely exit the game in the first quarter due to a supposed injury’ – then sold the tip to others for $100,000
Laster sold the secret intel to several more defendants for $100,000, according to the complaint.
There was eventually resolution in October 2020 and they signed a confidential settlement, with Rozier taking a more active role in Kimberly’s life as seen by the plethora of photos together on the child’s social media account
They collectively bet more than $300,000 that he would fall short of his typical numbers for points, assists, rebounds and three pointers.
A week later Laster drove to Rozier’s home in Charlotte where they counted the money they had made, it’s alleged.
Speaking to NBC outside court Thursday, Rozier’s lawyer Jim Trusty dismissed claims his client was a gambler and said his March 2023 injury was genuine.
In a statement released to The New York Times earlier in the day, Trusty questioned why the FBI decided to arrest Rozier at his team hotel instead of letting him self-surrender.
‘They wanted the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete with a perp walk. That tells you a lot about the motivations in this case,’ he said.
‘They appear to be taking the word of spectacularly incredible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing.’
