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NBA gambling scandal updates: Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier arrested
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- NBA gambling scandal updates: Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier arrested
The FBI secured multiple indictments for more than 30 people related to their alleged role in an explosive gambling scandal that has rocked the NBA. Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups , Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones all were arrested as part of the investigation, which involved extensive illegal gambling rings, FBI director Kash Patel said during a news conference Thursday.
Billups was charged in connection with an illegal poker operation tied to the mafia, while Rozier is accused of manipulating his performance during an NBA game to benefit illegal betting. Jones is one of three people charged in both indictments, said Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
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The NBA placed Billups and Rozier on " immediate leave " after they were indicted. Billups was in court and arraigned in Portland Thursday afternoon. Here are the latest updates. We will update this story as new information becomes available.
Chauncey Billups attorney statement
The Trail Blazers coach's attorney, Chris Heywood, issued a statement to ESPN . It read:
"Anyone who knows Chauncey Billups knows he is a man of integrity; men of integrity do not cheat and defraud others.
"To believe that Chauncey Billups did what the federal government is accusing him of is to believe that he would risk his hall-of-fame legacy, his reputation, and his freedom. He would not jeopardize those things for anything, let alone a card game.
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"Furthermore, Chauncey Billups has never and would never gamble on basketball games, provide insider information, or sacrifice the trust of his team and the League, as it would tarnish the game he has devoted his entire life to.
"Chauncey Billups has never backed down. He does not plan to do so now. He will fight these allegations with the same tenacity that marked his 28-year career. We look forward to our day in court."
NBA's previous investigation of Terry Rozier explained
The NBA said it investigated "unusual betting activity'' related to Terry Rozier in 2023 and did not find a violation of league rules. But now Rozier has been charged in the Eastern District of New York as part of a federal probe into illegal sports betting .
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The outcome of the two investigations drew interest after Rozier was arrested Oct. 23 .
Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA player Damon Jones were also arrested for their alleged involvement in the operation, though they are facing different charges. Rozier and Billups have been placed on immediate leave by the NBA .
The NBA had initially cleared Rozier following its own investigation, but the league lacks subpoena power afforded to law enforcement. On Jan. 30 2025, news of the investigation in the Eastern District of New York first came to light. At that point, the NBA said it would cooperate with federal authorities. — Josh Peter
More on the NBA's previous investigation into Terry Rozier from USA TODAY's Josh Peter.
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FBI claims Chauncey Billups, mobsters swindled significant sum
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is one of 31 defendants accused of helping mobsters swindle millions of dollars from unsuspecting poker players during a series of rigged games [...]
But exactly how much money did these poker games allegedly defraud from victims?
According to the federal indictment, the alleged conspiracy "caused losses to the Victims of at least $7,150,000," though the amount that Billups and other alleged participants earned from the scheme was not listed in the document. — Lorenzo Reyes
USA TODAY Sports reporter Lorenzo Reyes has more on the significant losses alleged in the federal indictment .
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Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was arraigned Thursday
Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was arraigned Oct. 23 on charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland.
Billups was indicted , along with more than 30 people, in the Eastern District of New York for his role in bringing victims to rigged poker games.
Billups appeared in a packed Portland courtroom at 1:30 p.m. wearing a brown sweatshirt and gray pants, only saying "Yes," when Judge Jolie A. Russo asked if he understood his right to remain silent.
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After his eight-minute arraignment, in which he was granted his release on the condition he stay only in Oregon and Colorado, Billups looked around the courtroom and was taken away. — Bill Poehler, Salem Statesman Journal
Bill Poehler, writing for the Salem Statesman Journal, has more on Thursday's arraignment of Chauncey Billups .
Pro poker player says Chauncey Billups was in rigged game years prior
Two years before Chauncey Billups was named in an FBI indictment on Thursday, Oct. 23, a professional poker player said a rigged poker game was "built around" Billups, the head coach of the Portland Trailblazers and NBA Hall of Famer.
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Matt Berkey, the 43-year-old poker player, made his allegations in 2023 during an appearance on the "Only Friends'' podcast. — Josh Peter
USA TODAY Sports' Josh Peter has more on Berkey's comments .
What did Terry Rozier do?
One indictment deals with an alleged insider sports-betting conspiracy. Six defendants are charged, including current Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and coach Damon Jones.
Rozier, Jones and others allegedly tried to defraud people from about December of 2022 to March of 2024 by betting based on insider information about NBA athletes and teams. The non-public information included when players would be sitting out future games or when they would pull themselves out early based on purported injuries or illnesses, according to prosecutor Joseph Nocella Jr., who spoke at the news conference.
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What did Chauncey Billups do?
The second indictment charges 31 defendants with scheming to rig illegal poker games. The defendants include Portland Trail Blazers coach and former Detroit Pistons star Chauncey Billups and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and coach Damon Jones.
The defendants allegedly used high-tech cheating technology to steal millions of dollars from victims in secretly-fixed underground poker games. For instance, Nocella said they used off-the-shelf shuffling machines that were altered to read the deck's cards and relay information about which player likely had the best hand.
This scheme also involved the mafia, according to Nocella. That was because members of the Bonano, Gambino and Genovese organized-crime families already had control over non-rigged, illegal poker games in New York City.
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Charges in this scheme include wire fraud conspiracy, illegal gambling, money laundering, robbery and extortions, according to Nocella.
Lakers coach JJ Redick comments on NBA gambling
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick spoke with reporters on Thursday and briefly addressed the NBA gambling news.
"We've had two meetings on it already," Redick said. "It's obviously on the front of everyone's awareness given the last two years, but other than that, there's no other comment."
Who is Damon Jones?
Here's what to know about Damon Jones , as the 49-year-old stands among the group of 30-plus people charged in the wide-ranging scandal. Jones is a former basketball player who played 11 seasons in the NBA before becoming an assistant coach.
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Who was arrested in NBA gambling, rigged poker games scandal?
Here is the full list of people , along with their aliases, included in the two indictments.
Terry Rozier indictment PDF
Chauncey Billups indictment PDF
Who is Tiago Splitter ? What to know about Trail Blazers' interim coach
Portland named Tiago Splitter its interim coach on Oct. 23, according to ESPN . The former San Antonio Spurs center was in his first season as a Blazers' assistant. Here's what to know about Splitter .
NBA puts Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier on leave immediately
The NBA has placed Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier on " immediate leave " after they were indicted in a wide-ranging illegal gambling scheme that includes ties to organized crime and involves more than 30 individuals . The league said it will "continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities."
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How Damon Jones allegedly involved LeBron James in gambling scandal
Former NBA player Damon Jones provided non-public injury information about the status of two players in NBA games, according to allegations listed in Thursday's federal indictments related to a wide-ranging gambling scandal announced by FBI. Those players may have been LeBron James and Anthony Davis , based on public injury information USA TODAY Sports reviewed from the dates of those games. Read more .
Watch the FBI press conference
NBA indictments: Read full details
Read both indictments in full that include Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones.
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NBA statement on gambling scandal
The NBA has issued a statement in the wake of Thursday's indictments related to illegal gambling, announcing that Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their respective teams.
"We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today. Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority."
Chauncey Billups, the Mafia and 'rigged poker games'
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. detailed the extensive illegal poker scheme, with Mafia ties, that led to Billups' arrest at Thursday's games. Beginning as early as 2019, defendants in the case are accused of using wireless cheating technology to run rigged poker games in locales like the Hamptons, Miami, Las Vegas and Manhattan.
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Victims were lured to participate in the games by the chance to play alongside former professional athletes, including Billups and Jones. The former professional athletes were known as 'face cards,' while the victims were referred to as 'fish,' according to Nocella. Members of the Bonanno, Gambino and Genovese organized crime families also allegedly became involved, taking a cut of the rigged poker games and enforcing the collection of debts.
Nocella indicated Billups was a former NBA player and not the Trail Blazers coach at the time of his alleged involvement.
"What the victims, the fish, didn't know, is that everybody else at the poker game, from the dealer to the players – including the face cards – were in on the scam," Nocella said. "Once the game was underway, the defendants fleeced the victims out of tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars per game."
The alleged fraud included self-shuffling machines that had "been secretly altered in order to read the cards on the deck, predict which player on the table had the best poker hand, and relay the information to an offsite operator," according to Nocella. "The offsite operator sent the information via cell phone back to a co-conspirator at the table and that person at the table was known as the 'quarterback.' The 'quarterback' then signaled secretly the information he had received to others at the table and together they used that information in order to win their games and to cheat the victims."
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They are also alleged to have used poker chip tray analyzers, special contact lenses or eye glasses that can read pre-marked cards, and an X-ray table that can read cards face down on the table.
Portland Trail Blazers' statement on NBA gambling indictments
"We are aware of the allegations involving head coach Chauncey Billups, and the Trail Blazers are fully cooperating with the investigation," the team said in a statement released Thursday afternoon. "Billups has been placed on immediate leave, and Tiago Splitter will assume head coaching duties in the interim. Any further questions should be directed to the NBA."
Terry Rozier's attorney responds: 'Not a gambler'
Jim Trusty, the attorney representing Terry Rozier in this matter, sent a statement to USA TODAY Sports in response to his client's arrest on Thursday.
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"We have represented Terry Rozier for over a year. A long time ago we reached out to these prosecutors to tell them we should have an open line of communication," Trusty wrote. "They characterized Terry as a subject, not a target, but at 6 a.m. this morning they called to tell me FBI agents were trying to arrest him in a hotel. It is unfortunate that instead of allowing him to self surrender they opted for a photo op. They wanted the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete with a perp walk. That tells you a lot about the motivations in this case. They appear to be taking the word of spectacularly in-credible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing. Terry was cleared by the NBA and these prosecutors revived that non-case. Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight."
NBA gambling scandal: What FBI, Justice Department said
FBI director Kash Patel: "The fraud is mind-boggling. … We're talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery across a multi-years investigation."
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr.referred to the case involving Rozier as "one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States. This scheme is an insider sports betting conspiracy that exploited confidential information about National Basketball Association athletes and teams."
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Nocella said the indictment that led to the arrest of Billups, Jones and more than 30 people overall involved "a nationwide scheme to rig illegal poker games. These defendants ... used high-tech cheating technology to steal millions of dollars from victims in underground poker games that were secretly fixed."
Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier arrested
Billups was arrested in Oregon on Thursday morning, one day after a season-opening loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves .
Rozier was also arrested Thursday morning at a hotel in Orlando, Florida, where the Heat lost their season opener to the Magic. Rozier did not play in the game due to a coach's decision. Billups, Rozier and Jones are expected to make a court appearance later Thursday, according to a Justice Department spokesperson.
Terry Rozier averaged 10.6 points and 3.7 assists per game for the Miami Heat during the 2024-25 season.
NBA gambling scandal details: What we know
The years-long investigation spanned 11 states, resulted in more than 30 arrests and implicated the Bonnano, Gambino and Genovese organized crime families, according to Patel. The case involving Billups and Jones centers on rigged poker games that took place across the United States, Patel said, with the scheme targeting victims who were often lured to participate by the chance to play alongside former professional athletes.
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The indictment also includes acts of violence, including a robbery at gun-point in order to obtain a rigged shuffling machine, as well as extortions. The defendants laundered their proceeds, according to Justice Department officials, including through cash exchanges, use of multiple shell companies and through cryptocurrency transfers.
At the center of attention in Rozier's case is a March 23, 2023, game between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans . Sports books in several states flagged unusual betting activity on Rozier's statistics , triggering a halt on his prop bets. Rozier, who averaged 35.3 minutes and 21.1 points per game that season, left the game after playing just 10 minutes due to a foot injury.
Justice Department officials alleged on Thursday that more than $200,000 was bet on Rozier's "under" in the game
Rozier's attorney previously told ESPN that the veteran guard met with the NBA and FBI several times in 2023, and that the league determined Rozier had done nothing wrong.
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The case is part of a larger sports gambling scheme that has already implicated former Raptors forward Jontay Porter .
Who is Chauncey Billups?
Chauncey Billups , 49, was was one game into his fifth season as the coach in Portland after being on the sideline when the Trail Blazers lost their 2025 NBA season opener to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 118-114, on Wednesday. He had a 117-212 career record. elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024 after a 17-year playing career that included an NBA Finals MVP and championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004.
Who is Terry Rozier?
Rozier, 31, was traded by the Hornets to the Heat in January 2024. He is currently in the final season of a four-year, $96.3 million contract he signed with Charlotte in 2021.
This is a developing story. USA TODAY Sports will update with more details.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA gambling scandal updates: Billups, Rozier arrested by FBI
