In connection with two separate but interrelated federal gambling investigations that involved the league and the Mafia, more than 30 people were charged on Thursday, including Chauncey Billups, a former NBA Hall of Fame player and head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, and Terry Rozier, a Miami Heat guard.
At a press conference in Brooklyn on Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel stated that the schemes, one of which focused on insider sports betting and another that rigged poker games nationwide, spanned years and involved tens of millions of dollars in illicit gains from wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, and gambling.
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Rozier allegedly worked with their criminal partners, who allegedly used straw bettors to place multiple bets based on the tips, according to authorities, and was one of several National Basketball Association insiders who allegedly provided non-public information about upcoming games to them.
For instance, Rozier told associates in advance that he would leave a game early with a presumptive injury, which would have allowed them to wager more than $200, 000 that he would not meet his anticipated statistical goals for the game, according to officials.
Patel remarked, “This is the NBA’s insider trading saga.”
According to officials, Billups was accused of aiding in a separate case in helping to rig poker games so that unknowing players could be tricked into playing against famous people. In addition to the x-ray tables and card shufflers, the defendants also used cutting-edge technology to fix the games in New York, Las Vegas, Miami, and other locations.
According to officials, Bonanno, Gambino, Lucchese, and Genovese organized crime families in New York, which operated some of the underground poker games there, were also involved in the rigging. According to the prosecution, the families allegedly laundered money using cryptocurrency and other means, including extortion and robbery, to collect unpaid debts and use extortion and robbery to pay off the profits.
Brooklyn US Attorney Joseph Nocella said that while the arrests were the result of two separate indictments, some defendants, including former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones, were also charged in both cases.
Sports betting strikt
Rozier and Billups were given a leave of absence, according to the NBA, and they would continue to cooperate with authorities.
The statement read, “We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game continues to be our top priority.”
James Trusty, Rozier’s attorney, claimed that prosecutors “appear to be relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing rather than taking the word” of spectacularly unbelievable sources. The NBA cleared Terry, and these prosecutors reopened the case.
The number of arrests is likely to raise questions about how closely connected online sportsbooks and professional sports leagues are, which both have benefited from a significant increase in legalized betting and have also tried to protect fans and gamblers by ensuring the integrity of the game.
Some lawmakers are concerned about the proliferation of bets that could be most easily manipulated by players, such as prop bets, which allow bettors to speculate whether a particular player will hit or miss particular statistical totals in a particular game.
Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, stated to ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday that he favors more federal sports betting laws and that some betting partners had asked them to impose prop bet limits on more marginal players.
Players are punished
In recent years, several players in the “Big Four” North American men’s leagues have been punished for gambling. These include the NBA, the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and the National Hockey League.
Jontay Porter, a former NBA player, was charged with manipulating his performance to win wagers on his play, and he was given a life ban and a 2024 plea deal.
Pete Rose, the all-time leader in hits, was suspended from the MLB in 1989 after being caught betting on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds.
Rose was posthumously removed from the MLB’s permanently ineligible list earlier this year, making him eligible for the Hall of Fame after US President Donald Trump repeatedly called him.
Billups, 49, is the head coach of Portland for the fifth time. In addition to the New York Knicks, he played for seven other teams during his NBA career, and in 2004 he was named Most Valuable Player of the Finals with the Detroit Pistons.
On Thursday in Portland, he was scheduled to make his first court appearance.
Rozier, 31, is entering his 11th NBA season with a career-high of 13.9 points per game. According to the sports contract tracking website Spotrac, his 2025-26 salary is $26.6 million.
Source: Aljazeera
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