The NBA has been thrust into a deepening scandal after the FBI announced the arrests of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in a years-long illegal gambling and sports rigging investigation connected to major mafia crime families.
The FBI confirmed on Thursday that more than 30 individuals across several U.S. states have been charged in a sweeping operation targeting underground betting, game manipulation, and mafia-backed poker schemes.
“This is a historic operation that exposes the underworld connections between organized crime and professional sports,” said FBI Director Kash Patel during a press briefing in New York. “We are talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud, theft, and illegal gambling.”
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn unsealed two indictments that detail separate but interconnected schemes involving professional athletes, coaches, and members of the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese families.
According to U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, the first indictment centers on sports betting that exploited inside information from NBA players and teams to manipulate wagers.
“The operation involved individuals with direct access to confidential player information, who used that to gain massive profits on betting platforms,” Nocella said.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the case began after authorities discovered a pattern of unusual betting activity linked to player performance statistics in several NBA games.
Tisch alleged that Rozier provided inside information in March 2024 about a game between the Charlotte Hornets and another team, where he planned to leave early with a supposed injury.
“Members of his circle placed over $200,000 in wagers on his under statistics,” Tisch said. “Rozier exited after nine minutes, and those bets paid out, generating tens of thousands in profit.”
The proceeds from the fraudulent bets were allegedly delivered to Rozier’s home, according to prosecutors.
The second indictment involves 31 defendants, including Billups and former NBA player Damon Jones, accused of running an underground poker network rigged to defraud wealthy participants.
The FBI said the illegal games operated between 2019 and 2024 in cities including Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan, and the Hamptons. The games were reportedly backed by the Bonanno, Gambino, and Genovese crime families.
Prosecutors allege that Billups and Jones acted as “face cards,” using their celebrity status to attract victims to high-stakes poker games.
“What the victims didn’t know is that everyone else at the table from the dealers to the players was part of the scam,” Nocella said. “They used technology like rigged shuffling machines, X-ray tables, and contact lenses to cheat.”
The FBI also revealed that several violent crimes were committed to protect the operation, including a gunpoint robbery to steal a shuffling machine and multiple acts of extortion.
Authorities say proceeds were laundered through cryptocurrency transactions, offshore shell companies, and large cash exchanges.
The Daily National News learned that the same Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office previously prosecuted former NBA player Jontay Porter, who was banned for life after pleading guilty to game-fixing charges.
On Thursday afternoon, the NBA issued a statement confirming that both Billups and Rozier were placed on immediate administrative leave.
“The integrity of our game is our highest priority,” the NBA said. “We are fully cooperating with federal authorities and conducting an internal review.”
Rozier was taken into custody early Thursday in Orlando, while Billups was arrested outside his Portland home, according to law enforcement officials.
Jim Trusty, Rozier’s attorney, told The Daily National News that the case relies on “unreliable witnesses and circumstantial evidence.”
He said his client was previously cleared in an internal NBA and FBI review in 2023. “We believe the facts will show Terry Rozier did nothing illegal,” Trusty said.
Billups’ representatives have not issued a public statement, but sources close to the coach said he intends to fight the charges vigorously.
The arrests have sent shockwaves across the NBA, which has faced growing concerns over gambling influence since the Supreme Court legalized sports betting in 2018.
Experts say the case underscores how the rapid expansion of legal betting has created vulnerabilities in professional sports.
“The intersection of organized crime and sports betting has reemerged in a major way,” said former federal prosecutor Michael Romano. “It’s a reminder that integrity monitoring has limits when insiders are involved.”
Rozier, 30, has earned $160 million in his career and is in the final year of a $96 million contract. Billups, 47, a five-time NBA All-Star and 2004 Finals MVP, has served as the Trail Blazers’ head coach since 2021.
Authorities say all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Court appearances are expected to begin in New York next week, where prosecutors will present detailed evidence of the alleged schemes.
