Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is among those charged in a mafia-linked illegal poker operation, while Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier is among several people charged in a separate but related illegal gambling case, authorities announced Thursday.
The poker games, which included basketball players to lend credibility to their authenticity, were allegedly rigged in favor of those running the games, using advanced technology such as rigged shuffling machines and even X-ray technology to read cards face down on the table, U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said.
Profits from the alleged poker scheme totaled $7 million “and counting,” officials said. The investigation took place over two years, said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups reacts during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Portland, Oregon.
Jenny Kane/AP
Billups coached the Trail Blazers in the season opener on Wednesday night, a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Billups was also a Hall of Fame player, primarily for the Detroit Pistons, before retiring in 2014. He was a five-time All-Star in his 17 years in the NBA and led the Pistons to the 2004 NBA title, being named Finals MVP.
Cristobal Raia, deputy director in charge of The FBI’s New York field office called it a “massive nationwide takedown” of 34 defendants in connection with two separate illegal sports betting and poker schemes.
Those charged include current and former NBA coaches and players, authorities said, as well as 13 mob members and associates of the Bonano, Gambino and Genovese crime families.
Authorities described it as an “expanding criminal enterprise” to “deceive unsuspecting players.”
Meanwhile, in what officials described as an “overlapping” case linked to prop betting on NBA games, Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones were arrested.
Rozier and Jones allegedly passed inside information to four co-defendants, who are accused of passing the information to a network of sports bettors, sources said. Those bettors allegedly placed bets at online sportsbooks or retail outlets, which prohibit bets based on non-public information.
Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier drives to the basket as Memphis Grizzlies guard Javon Small defends during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Miami.
Marta Lavandier/AP
The indictment included an example from March 23, 2023, when Rozier, then playing for the Charlotte Hornets, allegedly tipped off a co-defendant that he planned to leave the game early with a suspected injury, sources said. He left the game nine minutes later. A co-defendant and others allegedly placed $200,000 in bets, betting that Rozier would underperform his statistics.
Rozier is in his 11th year in the NBA. He has appeared in 665 games and has averaged 13.9 points per game in 665 games played. He was a key contributor for the Boston Celtics in the playoffs in 2016-19 before joining the Hornets.
His team opened the 2025 season Wednesday night in Orlando, but Rozier did not play due to a hamstring injury.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
