FBI announces NBA arrests in Mafia-linked gambling, sports rigging probe
Over 30 people, including NBA head coaches Chauncey Billups and players Terry RozierThe arrests are part of a federal investigation into gambling and “sports rigging” operations that are linked to several major crime families, law enforcement leaders said Thursday.
“We’re here in New York to announce historic arrests in a vast, pervasive criminal enterprise that spans both the NBA and La Cosa Nostra,” FBI Director Kash Patel said at a news conference in Brooklyn.
Billups, head coach Portland TrailblazersRosier of the Miami HeatAnd former NBA player Damon Jones “was taken into custody today,” Patel said.
The NBA has cooperated with law enforcement’s investigation, said Joseph Nocella, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. The Basketball Association did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The arrests stemmed from two major fraud-related cases: one involving sports betting and another linked to “rigged poker games,” Nosella said.
The latter indictment includes 31 defendants who “participated in a nationwide scheme” to rig the game using high-tech cheating technology to steal millions of dollars from victims of secretly fixed underground poker games, Nosella said.
The games, which took place in the New York area, were supported by the Bonanno, Gambino and Genovese crime families, he said.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups reacts during the first quarter of a preseason game against the Golden State Warriors at Moda Center on October 14, 2025 in Portland, Oregon.
Alika Jenner | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images
“This alleged illegal gambling operation took unwitting victims out of millions of dollars and created a financial pipeline for La Cosa Nostra to fund and facilitate their organized crime activities,” said FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raya.
Billups, a former Detroit Pistons player who spent 17 years in the NBA, was arrested in Portland. A five-time All-Star, Billups was included Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.
Rozier was arrested in Orlando, Florida.
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Rozier, a 10-year NBA veteran, had been under scrutiny for months for suspicious sports betting activity related to his game.
Terry Rozier #2 of the Miami Heat dribbles the ball in the second half during a preseason game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Kaseya Center on October 17, 2025 in Miami, Florida.
Tomas Diniz Santos | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images
Billups was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 2004 when the Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the league finals.
Jones, 49, played for 10 teams, including three seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, in an NBA career spanning more than a decade.
This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
– of CNBC Jessica Golden Contributed to the report.
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