The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested 31 individuals, including a National Basketball Association (NBA) star, a former NBA star, and an NBA coach, on Thursday over a “lucrative fraud scheme to cheat victims out of millions of dollars.”
In a Tuesday press release, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella, Jr. said, “Members and associates of organized crime families fixed illegal poker games as part of a highly sophisticated and lucrative fraud scheme to cheat victims out of millions of dollars and conspired with others to perpetrate their frauds.”
“Well-known former NBA players and former professional athletes, acted as ‘Face Cards’ to lure unsuspecting victims to high-stakes poker games, where they were then at the mercy of concealed technology, including rigged shuffling machines and specially designed contacts lenses and sunglasses to read the backs of playing cards, which ensured that the victims would lose big,” Nocella added. “Today’s indictment and arrests sounds the final buzzer for these cheaters.”
According to the press release, the individuals arrested in the illegal gambling schemes include Terry Rozier, who plays for the Miami Heat; Damon Jones, who previously played in the NBA; and Chauncey Billups, the coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Law enforcement officials confirmed on Thursday that the charges against the defendants include illegal gambling, robbery, money laundering, extortion, and wire fraud.
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“What we’re announcing today is not just another takedown. It’s the result of more than two years of coordinated investigative work by the NYPD’s Joint Organized Crime Task Force and the FBI,” New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a Thursday press conference.
Tisch explained that one of the illegal gambling cases involved a gambling ring involving professional basketball games.
“Players and associates allegedly used inside information to manipulate prop bets on major sports betting platforms,” Tisch stated. “They placed wagers on unders—on players to score less, rebound less, assist less—using information that was not yet public. In some instances, players altered their performance or took themselves out of games to make sure that those bets paid out.”
Following Thursday’s indictments, the NBA released a statement, saying, “We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today. Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
According to The Post Millennial, FBI Director Kash Patel described the level of fraud documented in the illegal gambling schemes as “mindboggling.” “We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in theft, in fraud, in robbery,” he said.
