WASHINGTON, Oct 24: An FBI investigation has led to the arrest of NBA player Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups in two separate cases tied to illegal sports betting and mafia-linked poker games, the BBC reported.
Rozier, 31, was among six people detained for allegedly manipulating bets, including claims that some players faked injuries to influence gambling markets, the BBC said. Billups, who has coached the Blazers since 2021, was charged in a separate case involving 31 people accused of running rigged poker games with ties to organized crime, the BBC said.
Authorities say the poker case involved members of several New York crime families who used high-tech cheating devices such as marked cards, special contact lenses, and X-ray tables to deceive players out of millions of dollars, the BBC noted. The defendants allegedly lured victims to games with famous athletes and then stole their winnings, according to the BBC.
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The NBA said Rozier and Billups were placed on immediate leave while the league reviews the charges, the BBC said. Rozier’s lawyer told CBS News that his client “is not a gambler” and would fight the accusations, the BBC reported. Rozier appeared in a Florida court on Thursday and was released on bond after offering his $6 million home as collateral, according to local media cited by the BBC. Billups appeared in court in Portland and is also expected to post bond, the BBC added.
FBI Director Kash Patel said during a news conference that the coordinated arrests spanned 11 states and involved tens of millions of dollars in fraud, the BBC reported. US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr said all defendants remain innocent until proven guilty, but warned that “their luck has run out,” the BBC reported.
Prosecutors believe Rozier and several associates used insider information to place bets on seven NBA games between February 2023 and March 2024, including one in which Rozier allegedly told a friend he would leave early due to injury, the BBC reported. That friend then placed over $200,000 in bets on Rozier’s underperformance, earning tens of thousands after Rozier exited the game after just nine minutes, the BBC mentioned.
Rozier’s attorney, James Trusty, said prosecutors were relying on unreliable sources and noted that the NBA had previously cleared Rozier, the BBC reported. Former NBA player Damon Jones was also arrested and accused of involvement in two games under investigation, according to the BBC.
The second indictment accuses Billups and others of participating in poker games rigged by organized crime groups, including the Genovese, Bonanno, and Gambino families, the BBC reported. Victims allegedly lost up to $1.8 million per game, with criminals using threats and intimidation to collect debts, the BBC noted.
The charges include robbery, extortion, wire fraud, bank fraud, and illegal gambling. FBI officials said the conspiracy defrauded victims of more than $7 million and warned that the investigation is far from over, according to the BBC.
