Kash Patel accused basketball stars of ‘sleeping’ with crime families

FBI Director Kash Patel A “nationwide takedown” of an illegal gambling ring with alleged ties to a famous basketball personality and crime families is “just the beginning” on Fox News.

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were interviewed after the FBI arrested them in connection with a federal investigation into an alleged crime ring.

“If you break the law, we’re coming for you,” Patel said Fox News Host Laura Ingraham.

Patel alleged that widespread cheating on basketball’s “grand stage” has been going on for “some time”.

“This has nothing to do with legalized gambling and everything to do with the NBA sleeping with La Cosa Nostra and people in positions of power in places like extortion, fraud, money laundering and wire fraud and many other crimes,” he said.

NBA legend Chauncey Billups, Heat’s Terry Rozier arrested as part of FBI gambling probe

Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones were arrested as part of an illegal poker scheme. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagine Images; Illustrated by Bill Frakes/Sports Getty Images)

“Your streak is over,” Joseph Nosella, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said at a news conference. “Your luck is over. Breaking the law is a losing proposition, and you can bet on it.”

Billups and Rozier were among more than 30 individuals arrested as part of a coordinated operation in 11 states, including wire fraud, extortion and illegal gambling charges. Officials said the fraud, theft and robbery totaled millions of dollars.

How Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones Are Allegedly Used to Force Victims into Illegal Poker Games

“These guys were in bed with La Cosa Nostra and four of the five major crime families in New York City to build a gambling empire, rob people of money, extort people, commit wire fraud, rig games and poker games and basketball games so they could make some extra money,” Patel said.Ingraham Cone.” “They have the protection of the New York Mafia all over this country, so they can continue this scheme to fleece innocent victims of millions of dollars.”

Patel also noted alleged gambling ties to La Cosa Nostra and the Gambino crime families. Members defrauded millions of victims, laundered money through cryptocurrencies and allegedly rigged poker games with cheating devices.

“They literally had scanners on the poker table, where they literally had professional athletes from the NBA to match their proposition bets,” Patel said.

FBI Director Kash Patel at a news conference on October 23, 2025 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The NBA Since then, Billups and Rozier have been placed on immediate leaves of absence. Fox News Digital reported.

“Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups have been placed on leave from their teams immediately and we will continue to cooperate with the appropriate authorities,” the league said. “We take these allegations very seriously and the integrity of our game is our top priority.”

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith drew attention to this controversy.

Stephen A. Smith on “ESPN NBA Countdown” Oct. 23. Set in 2024 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. (Kirby Lee/Imagine Images)

“… when you’ve got all these protesters who have left and people who are protesting against him and what have you, this guy is coming. He’s coming and I’ve been saying that for a long time. To me, this is the latest piece of evidence that we’re talking about here. It doesn’t call into question the legitimacy of the case,” he said.

Patel responded, saying Smith’s comment “might be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in modern history.”

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The FBI director has not yet concluded the investigation and said the cornerstone of his leadership is to “follow the money.”

“We will continue this investigation and those arrested today will bring down the illegal gambling empire embedded with La Casa Nostra, whether in the NBA or anywhere else,” he said.