Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier are among more than 30 people charged in connection with two major criminal schemes: illegal insider sports betting and rigged poker games backed by Mafia families, authorities announced at a news conference Thursday.
“It’s not hundreds of dollars. It’s not thousands of dollars. It’s not tens of thousands of dollars. It’s not even millions of dollars,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. “We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery across a multi-year investigation.”
“This is an illegal gambling operation and sports rigging operation that spanned the course of years,” Patel said.
The Charges:
Terry Rozier is charged in the insider sports betting scheme, accused of using private, confidential NBA information to profit from wagers. Authorities say that while playing for the Hornets, Rozier allegedly informed co-conspirators he planned to leave a March 23, 2023, game early with a “supposed injury,” enabling them to place bets for thousands of dollars.
Rozier and others allegedly provided information “likely to affect the outcome of games or players’ performances” in exchange for payment or a share of profits.
Chauncey Billups is charged in a separate indictment for his alleged role in a wide-ranging scheme to rig underground poker games.
These games, which were backed by Mafia families, allegedly involved defendants, including former professional athletes, using technology to steal millions from victims.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. called the sports betting scheme “one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized.”
Rozier was taken into custody in Orlando early Thursday morning. Hall of Famer Billups, in his fifth season as Portland’s coach, was also arrested.
The indictments are the result of a multi-year investigation that FBI Director Kash Patel said involves “tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft.”
The case was brought by the same U.S. attorney’s office that previously prosecuted former NBA player Jontay Porter in a separate betting scandal. Rozier’s attorney criticized the manner of his client’s arrest, accusing the FBI of opting for a “photo op” instead of allowing him to self-surrender.
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