An NBA player and an NBA coach are among more than 30 people arrested this Thursday (23/10) in an operation launched by the FBI that investigates a large scheme of illegal sports betting and manipulation of poker games linked to the mafia in the United States.
Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups were named by federal prosecutors in two separate cases, both involving fraud.
The NBA announced the immediate removal of Billups and Rozier from their respective teams.
Rozier, 31, is among six people arrested for alleged betting irregularities, including other NBA players who may have faked injuries to influence betting markets.
The group also allegedly used players’ privileged and confidential information to help third parties profit.
Billups, a Hall of Fame player who has coached the Portland Trail Blazers since 2021, is one of 31 people charged in a separate case of fraud involving illegal poker games involving retired players sponsored by Cosa Nostra crime families.
Thirteen members and associates of the Bonnnano, Genovese and Gambino families were arrested.
According to the FBI, those involved in the games used special technologies, including contact lenses capable of reading cards, tampered with shuffling machines and methods of secret communication between partners.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the “incomprehensible” fraud involved tens of millions of dollars over many years.
Former NBA player Damon Jones was also arrested. According to prosecutors, he is accused of participating in both schemes – both sports betting and illegal poker games.
Attorney James Trusty, who represents Rozier, denied the allegations against the athlete and said they were based on “spectacularly unbelievable sources rather than real evidence of wrongdoing.”
Trusty said Rozier never faked an injury or warned anyone about it, as prosecutors allege.
According to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, Rozier was released after giving his $6 million home in Florida as collateral.
Billups’ lawyer, Chris Heywood, arranged for the coach’s release under the conditions that he surrender his passport, obtain bail, restrict his travels and refrain from gambling or contacting other defendants, according to information from local outlet The Oregonian/OregonLive.
How poker games were rigged
One of the cases investigated includes an illegal poker game fraud system.
According to the Department of Justice, since 2019, members of the scheme have organized clandestine illegal poker games that were secretly rigged using cheating technology.
They used modified shuffling machines, which had technology that allowed them to read all the cards in the deck and determine which player would have the winning hand.
This information, according to the FBI, was transmitted to an external accomplice, who sent it via cell phone to a player sitting at the table, who, in turn, sent secret signals to other players at the table.
This way, they were able to win poker games against their victims.
The defendants are also accused of using a poker chip tray that secretly read cards using hidden cameras, an X-ray table that could read face-down cards, and special contact lenses or glasses that could read pre-marked cards.
The Department of Justice says victims lost at least US$7 million (R$37.5 million) through rigged poker games, with violent acts such as assault and robbery used to secure payment of debts through mob members.
Nocella described the fraud scheme as “lucrative and highly sophisticated in deceiving victims and stealing millions of dollars.”
How the betting scheme worked
The second case investigated by the police includes manipulation of sports betting.
According to the FBI, members of the scheme obtained information about NBA players that was not public and sold it to influence the betting scheme, as court documents show.
Damon Jones, for example, worked as an unofficial assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2022-2023 season — a role that gave him access to medical information about players.
Prosecutors allege that before a Lakers game in February 2023, Jones informed an unidentified accomplice that a certain player was injured and would not play that night, which would give the opposing team an advantage.
“Place a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information leaks! [Jogador 3] is out tonight,” Jones wrote in a message to his associate, according to the court document. And, as expected, the Lakers lost that game.
The scheme, however, did not always work.
Prosecutors say that before a Lakers game in January 2024, Jones learned that one of the team’s best players — whose name was redacted from documents — had an injury that would likely affect his performance.
Jones and an accomplice allegedly sold this information to a sports bettor, also listed as a defendant in the indictment, for US$2,500 (R$13,400). That bettor then bet US$100,000 (R$536,000) against the Lakers based on the information purchased from Jones, according to the document.
But the supposedly injured player ended up playing according to his season average, and the Lakers won.
This led the gambler to ask for his money back – the $2,500 he paid for the information – a request that Jones and his associate refused, according to the court document.
Which NBA games would have received illegal bets?
According to the Department of Justice, seven NBA games that took place between February 2023 and March 2024 were the target of illegal betting.
United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said the defendants “turned professional basketball into a criminal gambling operation, using private locker rooms and medical information to enrich themselves and defraud legitimate sportsbooks.”
The matches are:
- Charlotte Hornets game on March 23, 2023
Terry Rozier reportedly told an accomplice that he planned to leave the game early due to an injury. Participants in the scheme then bet more than US$200,000 (R$1 million) that Rozier would perform below expectations, before he left the match after nine minutes. This generated tens of thousands of dollars in profit, according to the Justice Department.
- Portland Trail Blazers game on March 24, 2023
Eric Earnest allegedly received and passed on privileged information from an NBA coach that several Blazers players would be left out of the game against the Chicago Bulls. Before the information became public, Marves Fairley and his associates would have bet more than US$100,000 (R$536,000) against the Blazers and “obtained significant winnings.”
- Orlando Magic game on April 6, 2023
Marves Fairley reportedly profited from a tip that several of the Orlando Magic’s key players would sit out the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is accused of betting about $11,000 on the Cavaliers by exceeding the point margin.
- Los Angeles Lakers games on February 9, 2023 and January 15, 2024
Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones allegedly provided scheme partners with confidential medical information about Lakers players before it was publicly released so they could place bets.
- Toronto Raptors games on January 26, 2024 and March 20, 2024
Jontay Porter, then a player for the Toronto Raptors, reportedly informed accomplices that he would leave matches scheduled for those dates prematurely. When he actually left both games early, several fraudulent bets were successful, according to the Justice Department.
What the NBA says
Following the arrests, the NBA released a statement announcing the removal of Rozier and Billups from their respective teams.
“We are reviewing the federal charges announced today. Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being immediately removed from their teams and we will continue to cooperate with the appropriate authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority,” he stated.
The union representing NBA players told the BBC it wants “due process” for the arrested players.
The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) represents current professional basketball players, advocating for their protection and benefits.
“The integrity of the game is paramount for NBA players, but so is the presumption of innocence, and both are undermined when players’ popularity is misused to gain attention,” said an NBPA spokesperson.
“We will ensure our members are protected and have their rights to due process during this process.”
