NBA veteran charged with defrauding over $250K from Strip casinos
Former NBA player Marcus Morris has been charged with check fraud and theft after authorities said he defrauded hundreds of thousands of dollars from two Strip casinos, according to court documents.
Florida court records indicate that Morris, who is a Boca Raton resident, was arrested on the charges while at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Sunday. His booking report, provided by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, stated that he was being held on an out-of-state warrant and would be extradited to Nevada.
Online court records show that Las Vegas authorities issued two warrants for Morris’ arrest, once in March and again in June. With both warrants, Morris was ordered to be held without bail.
The 35-year-old faces one felony count of writing a check with insufficient funds with intent to defraud, as well as another count of theft in connection with a May 2024 incident at the MGM Grand.
Morris also faces two additional charges for similar offenses connected to a June 2024 incident at the Wynn. In total, Morris is accused of defrauding $265,000 by using about 50 checks.
“The checks were deposited and returned unpaid as the Defendant well knew,” the documents stated, adding that a letter had been mailed to Morris. “More than 10 days have passed since the mailing of the certified letter, and Marcus Morris has failed to pay the checks in full.”
On Wednesday, Morris, who, according to Florida and Nevada custody records, appears to be out of jail, responded to the allegations on Instagram.
First, he said that he “woke up in his bed this morning.”
“Say what you want but FRAUD will never be something I’m apart of or wasting my time with,” the post said in part. “No money was exchanged or taken from any casino and into my pocket. You spend that money there if you don’t know how it works. Last thing, I never wrote a check at any point to a casino. When u get a marker that’s considered a check which I didn’t know.”
Efforts to reach his lawyer, Cheryl Wilson, were unsuccessful. The Clark County district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Morris played in the NBA for roughly 13 years, with his longest tenure being on the Los Angeles Clippers. He has also played for the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.