On Thursday morning, law enforcement agents moved in and arrested Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier. Billups was arrested over his alleged role in an illegal poker ring run by organized crime. Rozier’s arrest stems from suspicious gambling activity surrounding a game in 2023.
“What you don’t know is that this is an illegal gambling operation and sports rigging operation that spanned the course of years,” Patel told reporters. “The FBI led a coordinated takedown across 11 states to arrest over 30 individuals today responsible for this case, which is very much ongoing. Not only did we crack into the fraud that these perpetrators committed on the grand stage of the NBA, but we also entered and executed a system of justice against “La Cosa Nostra” to include the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese crime families, and you’ll hear more about those details today.
“The charges and the arrests that were taken down across this country ranged from wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery, and illegal gambling. This FBI will leave no room for any perpetrator of crime across this country.
According to reports from those familiar with the scheme Billups allegedly participated in, the games were rigged with technology and card-shuffling machines to give the house the advantage. The mob was paying the players to participate and win, and, when instructed, to lose.
As for Rozier, his allegations involve a 2023 basketball game in which he played only nine minutes and saw unusual action on prop bets.
The NBA has become the focus of illegal gambling in the sports world. Just last year, Toronto’s Jontay Porter pleaded guilty to informing gamblers of games he was going to rig as part of an effort to pay back gambling debts. It is reported that gamblers benefiting from Porter’s inside information made as much as $1 million.
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