- FBI arrested NBA figures Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones along with 30+ others in gambling schemes tied to four Mafia families.
- Rozier charged with insider betting fraud; Billups and Jones charged with rigging poker games backed by organized crime.
- Arrests highlight integrity concerns over legal sports betting expansion and validate critics’ warnings about scandals following legalization.
NEW YORK – The NBA faces one of its most severe integrity crises in league history as federal authorities arrested more than 30 individuals Thursday, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA player Damon Jones, in connection with illegal gambling schemes tied to organized crime.
Massive Federal Operation Targets Organized Crime
FBI Director Kash Patel described the operation as mind-boggling, involving tens of millions of dollars and implicating four of the five major Mafia families—the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese crime families.
Charged with wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery, and unlawful gambling, the extensive investigation, dubbed Operation Royal Flush, led to arrests in 11 states.
Federal prosecutors claim that La Cosa Nostra members and affiliates approved of the rigged poker games. It has been claimed that organized crime leaders enforced debt collection, offered protection, and took a cut of the illicit profits.
Who Are the Key Figures Arrested
Billups is a Basketball Hall of Famer who led the Detroit Pistons to an NBA championship in 2004 as Finals MVP. Just hours after leading the Portland Trail Blazers in their season opening, the five-time All-Star, who is in his sixth season as head coach, was taken into custody.
Rozier is a Miami Heat guard who is in the last year of a $96.3 million deal. He missed Miami’s season opener on Wednesday, just hours before he was arrested in Orlando on Thursday morning.
Jones is a former NBA player who spent time with the Cleveland Cavaliers and other teams during his professional career. He was taken into custody in Las Vegas as part of the federal investigation.
Charges Against the NBA Figures
Rozier faces charges related to participating in an illegal sports betting scheme using private insider NBA information. Federal prosecutors allege the scheme involved hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent wagers placed by a network of proxies.
Authorities flagged suspicious betting activity surrounding a March 2023 game when Rozier, then with the Charlotte Hornets, exited after just 10 minutes citing a foot injury. Sportsbooks flagged 30 bets totaling $13,759 placed on Rozier’s unders within 46 minutes.
Read more: Terry Rozier Betting Scandal Under Federal Investigation
Billups and Jones both face charges, including wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy related to an alleged scheme to rig underground poker games. The games allegedly used wireless cheating technology and featured former professional athletes to lure victims.
The controversy calls into doubt the legitimacy of legal sports betting sites, which have been deeply interconnected with professional sports since legalization.
Jim Trusty, Rozier’s lawyer, said the NBA had previously cleared Rozier and called the arrest a “photo op.” According to Trusty, the argument is not supported by evidence but rather by dubious sources.
