NBA Coach Billups and Player Rozier Charged in Federal Cases Over Rigged Poker Games and Insider Bets
On October 23, 2025, in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, federal prosecutors unsealed two indictments charging Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and others in illegal gambling cases. The cases were announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn.
The first indictment charged 31 defendants in schemes to rig illegal poker games. Prosecutors said that, beginning as early as 2019, the defendants used wireless cheating technology to rig underground poker games, most commonly Texas Hold'em, in New York City, East Hampton and across the United States: altered shuffling machines could read the entire deck, information was relayed by an off-site accomplice to a player at the table, and other devices included an X-ray table that could read face-down cards, a chip tray analyzer and special contact lenses or eyeglasses that could read pre-marked cards. Members and associates of the Bonanno, Gambino and Genovese organised crime families backed the New York-area games and took a percentage of the proceeds. Former professional athletes were enlisted as face cards to lure unsuspecting victims, who sometimes lost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time and, prosecutors said, lost at least $7 million in total. The 31 defendants were arrested that morning in 11 states, among them Billups and former NBA player Damon Jones.
The second indictment charged six defendants over a scheme to profit from non-public NBA information. Prosecutors said that between December 2022 and March 2024 the defendants obtained undisclosed injury and lineup information from players and coaches and used a network of bettors to place wagers with sportsbooks and launder the proceeds. Rozier was accused of telling a longtime friend on March 23, 2023, while playing for the Charlotte Hornets, that he planned to leave a game early over a purported injury; accomplices placed more than $200,000 in wagers that he would underperform, he exited after nine minutes, and many of the bets paid off, generating tens of thousands of dollars in profits. Jones was accused of providing pre-release medical information about Los Angeles Lakers star players in February 2023 and January 2024. Former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter had previously pleaded guilty in connection with his role in related wagers.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. said the defendants turned professional basketball into a criminal betting operation, using private locker room and medical information to enrich themselves and cheat legitimate sportsbooks, and that insider betting schemes erode the integrity of American sports. In the betting case, the defendants were charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, each count carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.
The charges in the indictments are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于纽约布鲁克林的美国联邦法院大楼，两份起诉书在此解封公布。Beyond My Ken，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The United States federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, where the two indictments were unsealed. By Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
