FBI indicts 20-plus in probe of gambling

Arrests include current, ex-NBA players, coach

By: Steve Gardner
and Mark Giannotto
USA Today

..... 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 Blazer 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. FIB director Kash Patel said at a news conference October 23. [2025]
..... Billups, who played for the Knicks for part of one season, 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 changed in both indictments, according to Joseph Norcella Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
..... Billups was arrested in Oregon on the morning of October 23, [2025] the day after a season-opening loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rozier was also arrested that morning [10/23/2025] at a hotel in Orlando, Florida, where the Heat lost their season opener to the Orlando Magic. Rozier did not play in the game due to a coach's decision.
..... Rozier, Billups and Jones were expected to make a court appearance later in the day, according to a Justice Department spokesperson.
..... "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, Patel said.
..... The NBA issued a statement announcing that Rozier and Billups are being placed o leave from their respective teams.
..... "We are in he process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today,' [10/23/2025] the league said. "Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperative with the relevant authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority."
..... Jim Trusty, the attorney representing Rozier, sent a statement to USA Today Sports in response to his client;s arrest.
..... "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 said. "They characterized Terry as a subject, not a target, but at 6 AM. this morning [10/23/2025] 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 prep walk. that tells you a lot about the motivations in this case. they appear to be taking the word of spectacularly incredible 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."
..... Nocella 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."
..... The 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 often lured to participate by the chance to play alongside former professional athletes.
..... Nocella said the indictment that led to the arrests involved "a nationwide scheme to rig illegal poker games. These defend nets ... used high-tech cheating technology to steal millions of dollars from victims in underground poker games that were secretly fixed."
..... Victims were fleeced out of hundreds of thousands of dollars per game, including one who lost upwards of $1.8 million, officials said.
..... Nocella said as early as 2019, the defendants used "wireless cheating t4echnology: to run rigged poker games in cities including New York City; the Hampton in New York, Las Vegas; and Miami.
..... The indictment also includes acts of violence, including a robbery at gunpoint in order to obtain a rigged shuffling machine, as well as extortion. The defendants laundered their proceeds, according to Justice Department officials, including through cash exchanges, cryptocurrency transfers and the use of multiple shell companies.
..... Bullups, 49, was one game into his fifth season as the coach in Portland after being on the sideline for the team's October 22 [2025] game. He has a 117-212 career record. He was 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.
,,,,, 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, trigging a halt on his prop bets. Rozier, who averaged 35.3 minutes and 21.1 pints per game that season, left the game after playing just 10 minutes due to a foot injury.
..... Justice Department officials alleged on October 23 [2025] that more than $200,000 was bet on Rozier's "under" in the game, meaning his statistics at the end of the game would not reach a figure set by oddsmakers

..... Contributing; N'dea Yancey-Braggs, USA Today

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