NBA stars and mafia among dozens arrested in crackdown on illegal gambling

An NBA player and coach are among dozens of people arrested as part of a sweeping FBI investigation into illegal sports betting and allegedly rigged poker games linked to the Mafia.

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

Rozier, 31, is among six people arrested over alleged betting irregularities. They include NBA players accused of faking injuries to influence betting markets.

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

That case, which prosecutors said involved four the five big crime families in New Yorkuncovered an alleged scheme to lure victims into playing rigged poker games alongside high-profile sports stars before stealing millions of dollars.

They did so using technology including special contact lenses and glasses that can read pre-marked maps and an X-ray table, according to authorities.

The NBA said in a statement that Rozier and Billups have been placed on leave immediately as they review the federal charges.

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

Rozier’s lawyer denied the allegations to CBS News, the BBC’s American affiliate, saying: “Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight and he is looking forward to winning this fight.”

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

Billups, who has coached the Portland Trail Blazers since 2021, was arrested in Portland, Ore., and arraigned Thursday, according to local media. He is also expected to prepare a solid bond for his release.

His attorney, Chris Haywood, also denied the charges, telling CBS in a statement: “He will fight these charges with the same tenacity that has marked 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 to announce the two indictments.

He called the arrests “extraordinary” and said there had been a “coordinated takedown in 11 states”.

“We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud, theft and robbery in a multi-year investigation,” he said.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. said all defendants are innocent until proven guilty, but warned: “Your winning streak is over. Your luck has run out.”

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

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

Seven NBA games between February 2023 and March 2024 have been identified as part of the case. Rozier is rumored to have been involved in one between the Charlotte Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans when he played for the Hornets.

Rozier reportedly told a friend he would be leaving the game early due to an injury. The friend and his associates then placed bets or directed others to bet “more than $200,000” that Rozier would beat the odds in the game, prosecutors said.

He left the game after nine minutes, they said, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in betting winnings for participants.

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

Prior to this game, he was averaging 35 minutes of playing time and around 21 points per game.

“Going into the NBA season, his career is now on the line, not because of injuries, but because of his integrity,” New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

Rozier’s attorney, James Trusty, said in a statement that prosecutors “appear to be taking the word of impressively unreliable sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing. Terry has been released by the NBA and these prosecutors have reopened this case.”

Mr. Trusty said he had represented Rozier for more than a year and said prosecutors characterized Rozier as a subject, not a target, until they informed him 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 participated in two of the identified games – when the Los Angeles Lakers met the Milwaukee Bucks in February 2023 and a January 2024 game between the Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Sports betting was banned in most of the US 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 with major sports leagues and media companies striking deals with gambling firms to enter the multibillion-dollar industry.

The second indictment, announced Thursday, includes 31 defendants who are alleged to have participated in scheme to manipulate illegal poker games and steal millions of dollars.

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

Nocella said the targeted victims were lured into playing games with former professional athletes, including Billups and Jones, in Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan and the Hamptons.

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

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

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

Tisch said that when people refused to pay, organized crime families used threats and intimidation to get them to hand over the money.

Charges include robbery, extortion, bank fraud, bank fraud and illegal gambling.

The scheme defrauded victims out of $7 million, with one losing $1.8 million, officials said.

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