The FBI’s charges have rippled across the NBA.
Heat guard Terry Rozier, Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA player and coach Damon Jones were arrested Thursday in a pair of sweeping and “historic” federal gambling raids.
One of the two indictments involves an illegal high-stakes gambling ring that allegedly funneled inside information to sports gamblers, while the other involves poker games that federal officials say were rigged and also involves four of the five Mafia families.
Jones was named in both indictments.
A total of 34 people were named in the cases after a multi-year, 11-state, multimillion-dollar investigation, authorities said, with FBI Director Kash Patel calling the scale of the fraud “mind-boggling.”
Prosecutors also detailed the alleged involvement of Jontay Porter, who was banned from the NBA in 2024 after pleading guilty to gambling scheme fraud.
According to the indictment regarding the alleged sports betting insider information, seven NBA games from 2023 and 2024 were specifically targeted by bettors with this information.
The FBI has arrested 31 people involved in a rigged poker gaming ring backed by New York City’s organized crime families.
- Ernest Aiello – reputed Bonanno gangster
- Nelson “Spanish G” Alvarez
- Louis “Lou Ap” Apicella
- Ammar “Flapper Poker” Awawdeh
- Saul Becher – professional poker player
- Chauncey Billups – Portland Trail Blazers coach, NBA Hall of Famer and 2004 NBA Champion
- Matthew “The Wrestler” Daddino
- Eric ‘Spooky’ Serious
- Lee Fama – professional poker player
- Johannes Gallo
- Marco Garzon
- Thomas “Tommy Juice” Gelardo – reputed Lucchese gangster charged in 2013 for beating a porn star girlfriend
- Jamie Gilet
- Tony ‘Black Tony’ Goodson
- Kenny Han
- Shane “Sugar” Hair
- Osman “Albanian Bruce” Hoti
- Horatio Hu
- Zhen “Scruli” Hu
- Damon “Dee Jones” Jones – NBA player from 1998 to 2009
- Joseph Lanni
- John “John South” Mazzola
- Curtis Meeks
- Nicholas Minucci
- Michael Renzulli
- Anthony Ruggero Jr.
- Anthony “Doc” Shnayderman
- Robert ‘Black Rob’ Stroud
- Seth Trustman
- Sophia “Pookie” Wei
- Julius Ziliani
March 23, 2023: Hornets vs. Pelicans
Rozier left the match after 9 minutes and 34 seconds with a foot injury.
He was not listed on the Hornets’ injury report and allegedly told a defendant he was leaving the game early due to an injury.
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Rozier finished with five points, three rebounds and two assists, well below his season averages in points (21.1), rebounds (4.1) and assists (5.1). The Hornets lost 115-96.
The suspect allegedly sold the information to gamblers, who, according to prosecutors, pocketed a large sum of $260,000 on bets against his points, assists and 3-pointer prop totals.
Rozier allegedly met with the defendant at his home a week later to count his share of the winnings.
March 24, 2023: Trail Blazers vs. Bulls
The Trail Blazers rested four starters late in a lost season. Those players included star point guard Damian Lillard and center Jusuf Nurkic. Lillard was listed as “probable” that morning while Nurkic was “questionable” on the official injury report.
Just before tipoff, both players were demoted to “away” after combining for 50 points in a 127-115 win over the Jazz two days earlier.
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The indictment alleges that “Co-Conspirator 8” tipped off a defendant before the decision was made public, prompting gamblers to bet about $100,000 on the Blazers to lose.
Billups was not named in this indictment, but the co-conspirator was described as an Oregon native who played in the NBA from 1997 to 2014 and then began coaching in 2021, which would match Billups’ resume.
Chicago won 124-96.
April 6, 2023: Magic vs. Cavaliers
Orlando benched key starters Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Markelle Fultz and Gary Harris, despite all four having played two games previously.
The FBI claims a suspect “used power.” [his] personal relationship” with an anonymous Magic player to place an $11,000 bet on Cleveland before the lineup was announced.
Cleveland won 118-94.
February 9, 2023: Lakers vs. Bucks
LeBron James was out with an ankle injury after scoring 38 points for the Lakers two days earlier.
The indictment alleges that Jones, who prosecutors label as an “unofficial assistant coach,” tipped a co-conspirator to bet “big” on Milwaukee before news of James’ status was released.
The Bucks won 115-106.
January 15, 2024: Lakers vs. Thunder
Jones allegedly shared a $2,500 trainer’s tip with a defendant, who wagered approximately $100,000 against the Lakers after “Player 4” was given limited minutes. Although not named in the indictment, the description matches then-Lakers star Anthony Davis.
Davis played 38 more minutes, scoring 27 points and 15 rebounds, and the Lakers won 112–105.
Jones was reportedly asked to return his payout after the failed bet.
January 26, 2024: Raptors vs. Clippers
Porter played four minutes off the bench before leaving due to an eye injury.
Prosecutors allege that he tipped off an employee before the game that he planned to quit early. That information was passed on to bettors, who successfully bet ‘under’ on his stats after he posted zero points, three rebounds and one assist.
The Clippers won 127-107.
March 20, 2024: Raptors vs. Kings
Porter again left early – this time due to illness – after logging just two minutes.
As in the previous case, the indictment alleges that he passed the information on to people who had placed successful bets on his limited performance.
Porter finished the night with zero points, two assists and two rebounds. The Kings won 123-89.
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