NBA Hall of Fame Chauncey Billups, head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, and Terry Rozier, a guard with the Miami Heat, were among the 30 people who were charged with two separate federal gambling investigations, which involved the mafia and the league. The schemes included one on insider sports betting and rigged poker games, which involved tens of millions of dollars in illicit gains from money laundering, wire fraud, and gambling.
Rozier was one of several National Basketball Association insiders who allegedly provided non-public information about upcoming games to their criminal partners, who in turn used straw bettors to place multiple bets based on the tips, authorities said.
In March 2023, for instance, Rozier told associates in advance he would leave a game early with a supposed injury, allowing them to bet more than $200,000 that he would not reach his expected statistical totals for the game, officials said.
$200,000+
Total amount bet by associates on Rozier’s underperformance after insider tip
March 2023
When the alleged scheme took place
1
Miami Heat guard involved in insider betting
Rozier informed associates in advance he would fake an injury and leave game early
Multiple
Straw bettors used to place bets based on insider tips
Indian Express InfoGenIE
“This is the insider trading saga for the NBA,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. Billups was charged in a separate case with helping to rig poker games to defraud unknowing players lured to the games with the promise of playing against celebrities, officials said. The defendants employed sophisticated technology to fix the games in New York, Las Vegas, Miami, and elsewhere, including fraudulent card shufflers and x-ray tables.
In a statement, the NBA said Rozier and Billups had been placed on leave and that the league would continue to cooperate with authorities.
“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the statement said.
Rozier’s lawyer, James Trusty, said prosecutors “appear to be taking the word of spectacularly incredible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing. Terry was cleared by the NBA, and these prosecutors revived that non-case.”
The Trail Blazers said the team was “fully cooperating with the investigation” and that assistant coach Tiago Splitter would take over as interim head coach.
(With agency inputs)
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
