Dozens of NBA stars and mobsters arrested in illegal gambling crackdown

An NBA player and a coach are among the dozen people arrested as part of the FBI’s broader investigation into illegal sports betting and allegedly daring, mafia-linked poker games.

Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups were named in two separate indictments by federal prosecutors on Thursday. Both deny the allegations.

Rosier, 31, is among six people arrested in connection with alleged betting irregularities. That includes NBA players accused of faking injuries to influence the gambling market.

Billups, a Hall of Fame player turned coach, is one of 31 people charged in a separate illegal poker game case involving retired players and the Mafia.

In that case, which prosecutors said involved four people Five major crime families in New Yorkexposed an alleged scheme to lure victims into playing rigged poker games with high-profile sports stars before stealing millions of dollars.

They did so using technology including special contact lenses and glasses that could read pre-marked cards and X-ray tables, according to authorities.

The NBA said in a statement that Rozier and Billups have been placed on immediate leave while it reviews the federal charges.

“We take these allegations very seriously and the integrity of our game is our top priority,” it said.

Rozier’s lawyer denied the allegations to the BBC’s US partner CBS News, saying: “Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight and he is eager to win this fight.”

He appeared in federal court in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday and was released on bail after putting up his Florida home – $6m (£4.5m) – as collateral, according to local media.

Billups, who has coached the Portland Trail Blazers since 2021, was arrested in Portland, Oregon and appeared in court on Thursday, local media reported. He is also expected to post a substantial bond for his release.

His attorney, Chris Haywood, also denied the allegations, telling CBS in a statement: “He will fight these charges with the same tenacity he has throughout his 28-year career. We look forward to our day in court.”

FBI Director Kash Patel held a press conference with other prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York on Thursday, where he announced the two indictments.

He called the arrests “extraordinary” and said there was a “coordinated takedown across 11 states”.

“We’re talking about multi-million dollar fraud and multi-year investigations into thefts and robberies,” he said.

Joseph Nosella Jr., the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said all defendants were innocent until proven guilty, but warned: “Your winning streak is over. Your luck is over.”

Prosecutors said the first case involved players and associates who used information not available to the public to place bets on major gambling platforms.

Nocella called it “one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting was widely legalized”.

Seven NBA games between February 2023 and March 2024 have been identified as part of the case. Rozier was said to be involved in one between the Charlotte Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans while playing for the Hornets.

Rozier allegedly told a friend that he was leaving the game early because of the injury. The friend and his associates then bet or directed others to bet “in excess of $200,000” that Rozier would beat the odds in the game, prosecutors said.

He left the game after nine minutes, they said, making thousands of dollars in betting profits for those involved.

During the game, Rozier scored just five points before exiting with a right leg injury, according to the official NBA game report.

Before that game, he averaged 35 minutes of playing time and nearly 21 points per game.

“As the NBA season tips off, his career has already been benched for integrity, not injury,” New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

Rozier’s attorney, James Trusty, said in a statement that prosecutors “appear to be taking the word of spectacularly credible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing. Terry was cleared by the NBA and these prosecutors revived that non-case”.

Mr. Trusty said he has been representing Rozier for more than a year and said prosecutors considered Rozier a subject, not a target, until he informed them that FBI agents were arresting the player at a hotel Thursday morning.

Former NBA player Damon Jones was also arrested as part of the investigation.

Jones is said to have been involved in two games that have been identified – when the Los Angeles Lakers met the Milwaukee Bucks in February 2023, and a game between the Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder in January 2024.

Sports betting was outlawed in most parts of the United States from 1992 until 2018, when the Supreme Court turned regulation of the practice over to the states.

Since the federal ban was lifted, sports betting has exploded as major sports leagues and media companies have struck deals with gambling companies to tap into the billion-dollar industry.

A second indictment announced Thursday includes 31 defendants accused of involvement Scheme to promote illegal poker games And stole millions of dollars.

The case involves 13 members and associates of the Bonanno, Genovese and Gambino crime families in New York.

Nosella said the targeted victims were lured to Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan and the Hamptons to play games with former professional players, including Billups and Jones.

Victims “ran” out of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars per game, he said.

He said the defendants use “very sophisticated technology” such as modified off-the-shelf shuffling machines that can read cards. Some defendants used special contact lenses and glasses to read the marked cards, and an X-ray table that could read the cards while they were face-to-face.

“What (the victims) didn’t know was that everyone else in the poker game — from the dealer to the player — was in on the scam,” Nocella said.

Tisch said that when people refused to pay, organized crime families used threats and threats to force them to pay.

These charges include robbery, extortion, wire fraud, bank fraud and illegal gambling.

The conspiracy defrauded victims out of $7 million and one lost $1.8 million, authorities said.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Christopher Raya, FBI assistant director of the New York field office, adding that the FBI is working hard to ensure that members of mafia families “can’t continue to wreak havoc in our communities.”