**October 23, 2025** – The National Basketball Association is facing its most significant crisis of integrity since the Tim Donaghy betting scandal of 2007, as a sweeping federal investigation unsealed today has implicated a Hall of Fame coach, a prominent player, and over 30 other individuals in two massive, interconnected alleged illegal gambling schemes with ties to organized crime. This is an ongoing investigative report, and this article will be updated as new information becomes available.
Just two days into its highly anticipated new season, and on the heels of securing a monumental $76 billion broadcast rights deal over 11 years, the NBA was rocked by a series of arrests that have cast a dark shadow over the league. Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former player and coach Damon Jones are among the central figures in a sprawling investigation that has allegedly exposed a web of insider trading, rigged high-stakes poker games, and the insidious influence of organized crime families.
The Two-Pronged Attack on Sports Integrity
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York have unsealed two separate but related indictments, painting a damning picture of alleged corruption that prosecutors claim has tainted the very fabric of professional basketball. The investigation, a joint effort between the FBI and the NYPD’s Organized Crime Task Force, has been more than a year in the making, with its roots tracing back to the 2024 lifetime ban of Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter for similar gambling offenses.
FBI Director Kash Patel described the case as “the insider-trading saga for the NBA” during a packed news conference at the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn on Thursday morning. Standing alongside NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Patel announced what law enforcement officials are calling one of the most significant organized crime busts in recent sports history.
Indictment 1: “Nothing But Bet” – The Alleged Insider Trading Scheme
The first indictment, aptly named “Nothing But Bet,” details what prosecutors describe as a sophisticated insider trading operation that allegedly defrauded sports betting companies of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Six defendants, including Terry Rozier and Damon Jones, are charged with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy, with each count carrying a potential 20-year prison sentence.
The alleged scheme, which prosecutors say ran from December 2022 to March 2024, revolved around the use of non-public information about player injuries and availability. The indictment alleges that this inside information was used to place fraudulent bets on at least seven NBA games, involving major teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, and others.
According to the indictment, the defendants allegedly obtained insider information and passed it along to bettors who would then place large wagers on prop bets—wagers tied to individual athlete performance rather than game outcomes. This type of betting has exploded in popularity with the rise of legal sports gambling apps, but it has also created new vulnerabilities for manipulation.
The Rozier Connection: An Alleged Early Exit
The most glaring example of this alleged insider trading involves Terry Rozier himself. On March 23, 2023, during a game between his then-team, the Charlotte Hornets, and the New Orleans Pelicans, Rozier abruptly left the court after playing just nine minutes and 34 seconds, citing “foot discomfort.” In those brief minutes, he scored five points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out two assists.
According to the indictment, Rozier had allegedly informed his childhood friend, Deniro Laster, that he would be making an early exit from the game. This information was then allegedly used by a group of co-conspirators to place over $200,000 in bets on Rozier’s “under” prop bets across multiple betting platforms. Following the game, prosecutors allege that Rozier paid Laster approximately $100,000 for his role in the scheme and even paid for Laster to travel to collect the proceeds.
This was Rozier’s final game action of the 2022-23 season. The NBA had previously investigated Rozier in 2023 after U.S. Integrity, a firm hired by the league to monitor potential gambling anomalies, noticed unusual betting activity on his performance. However, the league was unable to confirm wrongdoing at that time and did not punish him.
Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, has vigorously denied the allegations, stating that prosecutors have relied on “spectacularly incredible sources” rather than “actual evidence of wrongdoing.” Trusty added, “Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight.”
Damon Jones and the Alleged LeBron James Connection
Damon Jones, a former teammate of LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers, is accused of allegedly leveraging his connections within the NBA to gain inside information. In February 2023, while acting as an unofficial assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, Jones allegedly texted a co-conspirator to “Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out!” referring to the fact that LeBron James would be sitting out the February 9, 2023 game against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a sore ankle.
The description of the player in the indictment appears to match James, basketball’s biggest star, though James has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Prosecutors allege that Jones used his relationship with James from their time together in Cleveland to gather private medical information that had not yet been made public.
In another alleged incident on January 15, 2024, Jones is accused of selling inside information about player availability for a Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game, though that particular bet allegedly lost, leading to requests for a refund from the bettors.
Indictment 2: The Alleged Mafia-Backed Rigged Poker Games
The second indictment reveals what prosecutors describe as a far more sinister and long-running operation: a series of high-stakes, illegal poker games allegedly rigged by some of New York’s most notorious Mafia families, including the Bonanno, Gambino, Lucchese, and Genovese crime families.
This indictment names 31 defendants, including Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones, and alleges that they were involved in a scheme that defrauded victims of at least $7 million. The games, which prosecutors say have been running since at least 2019, allegedly took place in exclusive locations in Greenwich Village and Kips Bay in Manhattan, as well as in the Hamptons, Las Vegas, and Miami.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella explained at the press conference: “The mafia had preexisting control over non-rigged, illegal poker games around New York City. As a result, they also became involved in the rigged poker games, helping to organize the games and taking a cut of the proceedings—and working to enforce the collection of debts.”
“Face Cards” and Alleged High-Tech Cheating
Billups and Jones are described in the indictment as “face cards,” allegedly using their celebrity status to lure wealthy victims into the rigged games. The alleged cheating methods employed were as sophisticated as they were brazen, according to prosecutors. The indictment details an elaborate system involving:
- Altered shuffling machines that could allegedly read the cards in the deck and predict which player had the winning hand.
- X-ray tables allegedly capable of seeing through face-down cards.
- Specially designed contact lenses and sunglasses to allegedly read the backs of marked playing cards.
- Remote alerts allegedly sent via mobile phones to players at the table with information about the best hands.
- Subtle signals, such as tapping specific chips, to allegedly communicate between cheaters at the table.
According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, one victim alone lost $1.8 million in these allegedly rigged games. The Mafia’s alleged involvement extended beyond organizing the games; prosecutors claim they also took a cut of the profits and used force and intimidation to collect debts from victims.
The indictment includes defendants with colorful nicknames that read like a cast of characters from a mob movie: Albanian Bruce, The Wrestler, Flapper Poker, Black Tony, Spanish G, Juice, Black Rob, and Doc, among others. Eleven of the defendants are alleged to be leaders, members, or associates of the Mafia families.
Christopher Raia, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, described the sophisticated technology used in the alleged scheme, noting that it ensured “the victims would lose big.”
Three Defendants Charged in Both Schemes
Three individuals—Damon Jones, Eric Earnest (nicknamed “Spook”), and Shane Hennen (nicknamed “Sugar”)—are charged in both the betting and poker cases. Hennen is alleged to have provided the technology used for cheating in the poker games.
The “Co-Conspirator 8” Mystery
While Chauncey Billups is not named in the “Nothing But Bet” betting indictment, a person referred to as “Co-Conspirator 8” matches his description precisely: “a resident of Oregon” and “an NBA player from approximately 1997 through 2014, and an NBA coach since at least 2021.” The indictment alleges that Co-Conspirator 8 supplied information about the Trail Blazers resting key players ahead of a March 24, 2023 contest against the Chicago Bulls before it was made public. Stars Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic, Jerami Grant, and Anfernee Simons all sat out in a game the Blazers lost by 28 points.
Billups’ attorney, Christopher Haywood, has strongly denied all allegations against his client, calling Billups a “man of integrity” who would not risk his “hall-of-fame legacy, his reputation and his freedom.” Haywood stated, “Chauncey Billups has never backed down. He does not plan to do so now.”
The NBA’s Response and the Broader Implications
In response to the indictments, the NBA has placed both Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier on immediate, indefinite leave from their teams. In a statement, the league said, “We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.” The league also stated it would continue to cooperate with authorities.
Assistant coach Tiago Splitter will lead the Portland Trail Blazers while Billups is on leave. The Miami Heat declined to comment beyond the league’s statement. The Trail Blazers issued their own statement saying the team was cooperating with the investigation.
The timing of this scandal could not be worse for the NBA. The league is at a critical juncture, having just embarked on a new era of unprecedented financial prosperity with its new broadcast deals. The allegations of insider trading and Mafia involvement threaten to erode public trust and confidence in the league, a sentiment echoed by former federal prosecutor Artie McConnell, who stated, “It erodes public confidence in the game and the league.”
This scandal also raises serious questions about the NBA’s embrace of legalized sports betting. While NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was once a vocal proponent of legalized gambling—becoming the first American sports commissioner to call for it—he has recently called for stricter regulations, particularly on prop bets, the very type of wagers at the center of the alleged Rozier scheme.
Just two days before the indictments were unsealed, Silver appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” and discussed his concerns about prop betting. “We’ve asked some of our partners to pull back some of the prop bets, especially when they’re on two-way players, guys who don’t have the same stake in the competition, where it’s too easy to manipulate something, which seems otherwise small and inconsequential to the overall score,” Silver said.
FanDuel, the largest sports betting operator in the United States, called Thursday’s indictments “deeply disturbing” and expressed concern for “fans, athletes, and everyone who loves sports and values integrity and fair play.”
The Road Ahead: A Timeline of the Alleged Schemes
| Date | Alleged Event |
|---|---|
| 2019 | The allegedly rigged poker games, backed by Mafia families, are believed to have begun. |
| Dec 2022 | The “Nothing But Bet” alleged insider trading scheme begins, according to prosecutors. |
| Feb 9, 2023 | Damon Jones allegedly leaks inside information about LeBron James sitting out a Lakers vs. Bucks game. |
| Mar 23, 2023 | Terry Rozier allegedly fakes an injury and exits a game early, allowing co-conspirators to win over $200,000 in prop bets. |
| Mar 24, 2023 | “Co-Conspirator 8” (allegedly matching Billups’ description) provides inside information about Trail Blazers resting players vs. Bulls. |
| 2023 | The NBA investigates Rozier for suspicious betting activity but is unable to confirm wrongdoing. |
| 2024 | Jontay Porter is banned for life by the NBA for gambling violations; the federal investigation intensifies. |
| Oct 23, 2025 | The FBI announces the arrests of over 30 individuals, including Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier, in connection with the two alleged illegal gambling schemes. |
| Nov 24, 2025 | Chauncey Billups is scheduled to appear in federal court in Brooklyn. |
Court Proceedings and Legal Consequences
Both Rozier and Billups appeared in federal court on Thursday and were released from custody under strict conditions. Rozier, who was arrested in Orlando, Florida, was required to post his home as bond and surrender his passport. A Florida magistrate judge approved his release with these conditions.
Billups was arrested early Thursday morning at his home in Lake Oswego, Oregon. He appeared before Magistrate Judge Jolie Russo at the federal district courthouse in downtown Portland, where he surrendered his passport and was ordered to secure a substantial bond. He is required to appear at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn on November 24 at 10 a.m.
Each count of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Hu. However, these are only charges at this stage, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Historical Context: The NBA and Gambling Scandals
This is not the first time the NBA has been rocked by a gambling scandal, though it is arguably the most significant since the Tim Donaghy affair. In 2007, Donaghy, an NBA referee, was found to have bet on games he officiated, leading to a prison sentence and a permanent stain on the league’s reputation.
The current scandal is the NBA’s second major gambling incident in just two years. The investigation has its roots in the 2024 case involving Jontay Porter, who was banned for life by the NBA and subsequently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. A Brooklyn man was charged for his role in that betting scheme, and federal investigators used that case as a springboard to uncover the much larger alleged conspiracy announced Thursday.
The NBA’s Constitution, Article 35, gives the commissioner broad authority to ban players for engaging in schemes to unfairly alter game outcomes, with decisions being final and unappealable. The disciplinary process for coaches like Billups is less clear, particularly when the alleged illegal activity involves poker games not directly tied to NBA competition.
What’s Next?
The legal proceedings for the 30-plus defendants are just beginning, and the full extent of this alleged scandal is likely yet to be revealed. The investigation is ongoing, and federal officials have indicated that more charges against other players and individuals could be forthcoming.
For the NBA, the road ahead is a perilous one. The league must now navigate the fallout from this scandal, which has shaken the very foundations of its integrity at a time when it should be celebrating new heights of popularity and profitability. The actions it takes in the coming weeks and months will be critical in determining whether it can restore the trust of its fans and the public.
The league faces difficult questions about its relationship with the gambling industry, the effectiveness of its monitoring systems, and whether the explosion of prop betting has created an environment too vulnerable to manipulation. Commissioner Silver’s recent comments suggest the league is already reconsidering some aspects of its approach to legalized gambling.
As this story continues to develop, all eyes will be on the federal courts in Brooklyn, where the cases will unfold over the coming months. The November 24 court appearance for Billups will be closely watched, as will any additional charges or plea agreements that may emerge.
This is a developing story, and we will continue to provide updates as they become available. The integrity of professional sports hangs in the balance, and the outcome of these cases will have far-reaching implications not just for the NBA, but for all professional leagues navigating the complex intersection of sports and legalized gambling.
Editor’s Note: All individuals named in this article are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The allegations described are based on federal indictments and have not been proven in court. This article will be updated as new information becomes available in this ongoing investigation.
