NBA gambling arrests stun league, expose mafia links: What to know

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A monolithic betting ungraded has hit American basketball, with players and a manager present facing charges.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States lawyer for Brooklyn announced 2 indictments successful what they accidental is simply a monolithic cheating conspiracy involving existent and erstwhile hoops players, coaches and members of New York’s organised transgression families. On Thursday, the FBI besides carried retired arrests, including of NBA players allegedly progressive successful the scam.

What is the gambling ungraded successful the NBA?

A sweeping national probe has shaken the satellite of nonrecreational basketball, uncovering ties betwixt NBA figures and organised transgression successful an amerciable betting web worthy millions of dollars.

“The investigative enactment that culminated with this morning’s cognition are reminiscent of a Hollywood movie. But this was not luck, and it was not theatrics,” said Ricky Patel, the peculiar cause successful complaint of homeland information investigations, who has led the ongoing probe.

In total, 34 individuals were arrested crossed 11 states. Among those arrested were Portland Trail Blazers manager Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat defender Terry Rozier, and erstwhile Cleveland Cavaliers subordinate Damon Jones.

Authorities said they unsealed the indictments and carried out coordinated arrests nationwide connected Thursday.

pic.twitter.com/UcOBnWxe00

— FBI (@FBI) October 23, 2025

First indictment: Sports betting strategy (US v Eric Earnest Indictment)

In the archetypal case, Miami Heat defender Terry Rozier and respective others are accused of utilizing insider information, knowing erstwhile players would beryllium retired oregon permission aboriginal with “injuries”, to spot targeted bets connected those athletes underperforming successful points, assists oregon rebounds.

“They besides misused accusation obtained done longstanding friendships that they had with NBA players and coaches,” Joseph Nocella, the interim US lawyer for the Eastern District of New York, said.

The indictment highlights 7 games successful 2023 and 2024 connected which hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worthy of amerciable bets were allegedly placed.

Rozier’s lawyer denies each charges and said that his lawsuit volition combat the ineligible accusations.

Second indictment: Poker cheating cognition (United States v Aiello)

The 2nd lawsuit centres connected a blase poker-cheating ringing allegedly orchestrated by organised transgression groups successful New York.

According to prosecutors, victims were drawn into high-stakes poker games aft being told they would vie against well-known erstwhile athletes, including Portland Trail Blazers manager Chauncey Billups.

But the games were rigged. Crime groups allegedly utilized fake shuffling machines and an X-ray poker array that showed players’ hidden cards, letting them cheat victims retired of immense sums.

Officials accidental victims mislaid astatine slightest $7m overall. Those charged see crippled organisers, suppliers of the cheating equipment, and participants, among them Billups, who allegedly took portion successful respective specified games successful 2019.

Prosecutors accidental the strategy was backed by members of the Bonanno, Gambino, Lucchese, and Genovese transgression families, which controlled portions of New York’s underground poker circuit. These groups allegedly collected a stock of the profits, enforced payments done extortion and robbery, and laundered proceeds via cryptocurrency and different channels.

Along with the Colombo family, the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese groups correspond the “Five Families”, which person dominated New York’s Italian-American mafia since 1931. They signifier portion of a broader American-Sicilian web known arsenic La Cosa Nostra (Our Thing), whose members support ties to their counterparts successful Sicily.

Thirteen members and associates of the transgression families were besides indicted.

Who are the erstwhile and existent NBA players named successful the indictment?

These are the defendants named successful the indictments that see erstwhile and existent NBA players:

Chauncey Billups: Portland Trail Blazers caput coach. Billups is alleged to person functioned arsenic a “face card” (a personage fig utilized to pull players) for poker games that were rigged. Billups was besides a prima subordinate successful his time, a portion of the NBA for 17 years, astir of those years with the Detroit Pistons.

Damon Jones: Former NBA subordinate and adjunct manager for Los Angeles successful 2022-23. Jones is accused of supplying wrong accusation to let a web of conspirators to spot winning bets connected games. And similar Billups, helium is besides accused of helping to lure affluent radical to enactment successful poker games.

Terry Rozier: An NBA subordinate who, arsenic a subordinate of the Charlotte Hornets, is accused of providing insider accusation astir his playing presumption to radical progressive successful amerciable sports betting. Federal investigators allege that earlier a 2023 Charlotte Hornets game, Rozier told associates he’d permission aboriginal owed to an injury, starring to dense bets connected his “unders”.

This combo of images shows, from left, Portland Trail Blazers caput manager Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat defender Terry Rozier and erstwhile Cleveland Cavaliers' Damon Jones

What was the alleged betting strategy about?

Between December 2022 and March 2024, the defendants allegedly ran a program to nett from insider NBA accusation by placing bets that were astir guaranteed to win, past hiding the wealth way afterwards.

Some of the methodologies include:

Using insider information

The radical allegedly obtained non-public details astir subordinate injuries, crippled plans and lineup changes from NBA players and coaches.
Jones allegedly utilized his NBA connections to entree and merchantability oregon “attempt to sell” backstage aesculapian information.
Other insiders revealed erstwhile teams were “tanking” (intentionally losing) oregon resting cardinal players.
Jontay Porter, an American hoops subordinate who past played for the Toronto Raptors, allegedly agreed to exit games aboriginal truthful others could nett from bets connected his mediocre performance.
In immoderate cases, this accusation was sold for currency oregon a stock of winnings, with payments routed done intermediaries to fell the source.

Placing and concealing the bets

The defendants and their associates allegedly utilized licensed sportsbooks and amerciable bookies to spot bets, often done “straw bettors”, radical betting connected their behalf to debar detection.
They focused connected prop bets, particularly betting the “under” connected a player’s stats erstwhile they knew the subordinate would execute poorly oregon permission early.
Bets were made earlier wounded quality oregon lineup changes became public, ensuring amended odds.
They lied by omission to betting companies, failing to disclose that wagers were based connected insider information.

Hiding the profits

To disguise their winnings, the radical allegedly moved wealth done currency exchanges, slope wires, and peer-to-peer outgo apps.
In 1 case, Marves Fairley collected tens of thousands successful currency from co-conspirators aft winning bets and passed it on to others successful the network.

How were the poker games allegedly rigged?

According to the indictment, the defendants and their partners utilized high-tech cheating devices and concealed connection systems to power the result of underground poker games.

Some of the methods include:

The hidden reader

They allegedly utilized “rigged shuffling” machines that looked mean but could scan and work each paper successful the deck. This fto the conspirators cognize successful beforehand which subordinate held the winning hand.
The paper accusation was past sent wirelessly to an off-site “operator,” who relayed it backmost by telephone to an insider astatine the array – called the “quarterback” oregon “driver”. That subordinate utilized concealed signals to stock the important accusation with the remainder of the squad members playing successful the game.
Members and associates of the accused transgression families “used threats and intimidation to guarantee payments of debts”.

Other tools used:

The defendants besides occasionally utilized different technologies, including:

Electronic poker spot trays that could secretly work cards placed connected the table.
Card analysers hidden wrong modified phones.
Marked playing cards that were lone disposable to squad members wearing specially designed interaction lenses oregon sunglasses.

According to experts, this is unexpected.

“The thought that poker would beryllium astatine slightest portion of today’s quality was unexpected,” Mike McCann, prof of instrumentality astatine Harvard University, told Al Jazeera.

“And besides the alleged relation of the mafia, that determination are mafia ties to this, that benignant of came retired of nowhere,” helium added.

What has been the NBA response?

In a connection issued connected Thursday, the NBA said it is presently reviewing the recently announced national indictments and is cooperating afloat with authorities.

The league besides confirmed that Rozier and Billups person been placed connected contiguous permission from their respective teams.

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