Federal authorities have made shocking allegations against former NBA stars Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones, stating that they were used by New York City mob families to attract wealthy bettors to rigged poker games. The scheme, as revealed by unsealed court documents, is said to have netted the co-conspirators over $7 million over the course of several years.
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In a strategic move to lure affluent players to the illicit poker games, the mafia families allegedly utilised the reputations of Billups and Jones. The former NBA champions, aged 49, were arrested and charged in connection with the illegal gambling operation. The U.S. Justice Department’s filings shed light on how the athletes allegedly played a pivotal role in the two high-profile gambling cases involving current and former NBA players.
The involvement of Billups and Jones in the rigged poker games was detailed in the federal indictments, exposing a sophisticated operation orchestrated by the Gambino and Lucchese crime families. The allegations suggest that the players were unaware of the manipulation happening behind the scenes as they participated in games that were rigged to favour certain players.
According to the FBI, the former NBA stars were enlisted as ‘Face Cards’ by the crime families to elevate the allure of the rigged poker games amongst potential victims. These ‘Face Cards’ were integral members of the cheating teams and received a portion of the illegal proceeds for their involvement in the scheme.
The illicit gambling activities involved advanced technologies such as altered card shuffling machines that could predict the best poker hand at the table. This information was relayed to an off-site operator who then communicated it to the cheating players at the table via secret signals. Additionally, wireless devices like x-ray tables and marked cards aided the cheating players in manipulating the outcomes of the games.
The rigged poker operation, which was said to have commenced around April 2019, raked in more than $7 million from the unsuspecting wealthy players who were targeted by the crime families. In a bid to ensure repayment of debts from losing players, members of the mob allegedly resorted to threats and intimidation tactics, as outlined by the U.S. Department of Justice.
In a separate but related case unveiled alongside the allegations involving Billups and Jones, Damon Jones, a former player turned coach, faced charges for allegedly selling insider information about players’ injury statuses to bettors. The court filings suggest that Jones received compensation in exchange for providing this privileged information to gamblers.
With high-profile names like Terry Rozier, a current Miami Heat guard, also being implicated in the gambling scandal, the NBA community has been rocked by these damning revelations. As the legal proceedings unfold, the public awaits further developments in this intricate web of corruption and deceit that has tarnished the image of professional sports.