Two prominent NBA figures are among dozens arrested in a nationwide FBI crackdown targeting unlawful sports betting and rigged poker games connected to organised crime.
Terry Rozier, guard for the Miami Heat, and Chauncey Billups, head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, were named in separate federal indictments on Thursday.
Rozier is accused, along with five others, of manipulating sports bets, including instances where players allegedly exaggerated injuries to affect betting outcomes. Billups was charged in a case involving 31 individuals linked to mafia-run poker games with retired athletes.
Authorities said the poker ring involved members of multiple New York crime families, who allegedly lured victims into games alongside well-known sports personalities before cheating them out of millions.
Investigators said sophisticated tools, including contact lenses, special glasses, and even an X-ray table, were used to identify pre-marked cards and gain an unfair advantage.
The NBA announced that both Rozier and Billups are on immediate leave while it reviews the charges.
“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the league said in a statement.
Rozier’s attorney maintained his client’s innocence, saying: “Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight.” Rozier appeared in federal court in Orlando, Florida, and was released on bond after using his $6 million Florida home as collateral.
Billups, who has led the Trail Blazers since 2021, was arrested in Oregon and appeared in court the same day. He is expected to post a substantial bond as well.
At a Brooklyn news conference, FBI Director Kash Patel called the arrests part of a “coordinated takedown across 11 states” and described the operation as “extraordinary.”
“This investigation uncovered tens of millions of dollars in fraud, theft, and robbery over multiple years,” he said.
US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. warned that while all suspects are legally innocent until proven guilty, “your winning streak has ended. Your luck has run out.”
NBA games under scrutiny
The first indictment targets players and associates who allegedly used insider knowledge to manipulate betting platforms. Nocella described the scheme as “one of the most brazen sports corruption cases since online sports betting became widely legal.”
Investigators flagged seven NBA games between February 2023 and March 2024. Rozier is alleged to have influenced a game between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans by claiming he would leave early due to injury.
Prosecutors said his friends and their associates placed over $200,000 on him underperforming, profiting when Rozier played only nine minutes and scored five points.
Before that game, Rozier averaged 35 minutes and 21 points per game.
“As the NBA season tips off, his career is already benched, not for injury but for integrity,” said New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Rozier’s lawyer, James Trusty, dismissed the allegations, stating that prosecutors relied on “spectacularly in-credible sources rather than actual evidence” and highlighted that Rozier had previously been cleared by the NBA.
Former NBA player Damon Jones was also arrested, accused of participating in two of the games under investigation.
Mafia-linked poker scheme
The second indictment details 31 defendants who allegedly ran illegal poker games, cheating players out of millions. The scheme involved 13 members and associates of the Bonanno, Genovese, and Gambino families.
Victims were lured to poker games in Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan, and the Hamptons with the promise of playing alongside former professional athletes, including Billups and Jones.
Authorities said altered shuffling machines, special lenses, and X-ray tables were used to ensure the victims lost. “What [the victims] didn’t know is that everybody else at the poker game—from the dealer to the players—were in on the scam,” Nocella said.
When victims refused to pay, mafia members allegedly used threats and intimidation. The charges include robbery, extortion, wire fraud, and illegal gambling. Officials estimate the ring defrauded victims of around $7 million, with one individual losing $1.8 million.
“This is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Christopher Raia, FBI assistant director in New York. “We are working around the clock to ensure organized crime families cannot continue to harm communities.”
