Two shocking federal indictments provide a glimpse into an allegedly illegal National Basketball Association sports betting scheme and rigged poker games involving organized crime families, leading to the arrests of more than 30 people.
Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Damon Jones were among the list of people arrested.
Authorities called the plans ‘Operation Nothing But Bet’ and ‘Operation Royal Flush’ respectively. FBI Director Kash Patel said this during a press conference on Thursday called the fraud ‘astonishing’.
In an indictment related to Operation Nothing But BetProsecutors say Jones and others would sell details about NBA games and players to others before the information became public to inform illegal betting. He and the five other co-defendants in the lawsuit have been charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In one case, Jones allegedly sold information about a lower-body injury to “Player 3” prior to a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks on February 9, 2023.
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Player 3 is described in the document as a “prominent NBA player” but is not named. Star player Lebron James also did not play that evening due to a left ankle injury. Scotty Pippen Jr. did not play that game either, but that was not related to a lower body injury.
“Become a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out!” [Player 3] is out tonight. Bet enough for Djones to eat [sic] now!!!” Jones said in a text message to a gambler, the complaint said.
Milwaukee defeated the Lakers 115 to 106 in that game.
James and Jones overlapped with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005 to 2008. Jones also served as an unofficial Lakers coach during the 2022-2023 season. James has played for the Lakers since 2018.
James is not accused of wrongdoing.
CNBC reports this that a “person familiar with James’ situation” said James was unaware that non-public information about him was being used for betting. So too, a source said The Athletics that James was not aware of it.
The sports betting indictment also includes another instance in which Jones and co-defendants Eric Earnest and Marves Fairley conspired based on information about Player 4, believed to be Anthony Davis.
Player 4 was described in the complaint as “one of the Lakers’ best players during the 2023-2024 NBA season.”
Davis is not accused of any wrongdoing.
At a news conference, U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said. from the Eastern District of New York that the conspiracy is “one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting was widely legalized in the United States.”
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In the other federal charges related to ‘Operation Royal Flush’“, prosecutors say professional athletes like Jones and Billups, colloquially known as “face cards,” lured people to play poker games set up by organized crime families and then used technology to cheat their way to victory.
According to the indictment, the defendants have raked in at least $7,150,000 in numerous contests across the country since April 2019.
“As alleged, members and associates of organized crime families fixed illegal poker games as part of a highly sophisticated and lucrative fraud scheme to defraud victims of millions of dollars and conspired with others to perpetrate their fraud,” Nocella said in a statement statement. “Famous former NBA players and former professional athletes acted as ‘Face Cards’ to lure unsuspecting victims into high-stakes poker games, where they were then at the mercy of hidden technology, including rigged shuffling machines and specially designed contact lenses and sunglasses to read the backs of playing cards, causing the victims to suffer major losses. Today’s indictments and arrests ring the final buzzer for these cheaters. “
Nocella said at a press conference it was said that this plan also included acts of violence, “including the armed robbery of an individual to obtain a counterfeit sliding machine and extortions committed against victims to ensure that they would repay their gambling debts.”
The 31 defendants in this case face a series of charges, including a wire fraud conspiracy, a money laundering conspiracy, the operation of an illegal gambling business in connection therewith, and a theft and racketeering conspiracy under the Hobbs Act.
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Billups’ attorney, Chris Heywood, called Billups “a man of integrity” who “does not deceive or deceive others,” according to The Athletics.
“He will fight these allegations with the same tenacity that characterized his 28-year career,” Heywood said. “We look forward to our day in court.”
Similarly, Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty of Ifrah Law, said in a statement that Rozier is “not a gambler” and “looks forward to winning this fight.” according to ESPN.
The NBA said Rozier and Billups have been placed on leave.
“We are reviewing the federal charges announced today. Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams and we will continue to cooperate with appropriate authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the NBA said in a statement as reported by The Athletic.
In another statement On Thursday, the NBA said: “The integrity of the game is of paramount importance to NBA players, but so is the presumption of innocence, both of which are hampered when players’ popularity is misused to gain attention. We will ensure that our members are protected and that they receive their right to due process through this process.”
