An NBA player and coach are among dozens of people arrested as part of a sweeping FBI investigation into illegal sports betting and allegedly rigged, mafia-linked poker games.
Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups were named by federal prosecutors in two separate indictments on Thursday. Both men deny the allegations.
Rozier, 31, is among six people arrested over alleged betting irregularities. They include NBA players accused of faking injuries to influence gambling markets.
Billups, a Hall of Fame player turned coach, is one of 31 people charged in a separate illegal poker game case involving retired players and the mafia.
That case, which prosecutors said involved four of the five major crime families in New York, uncovered an alleged scheme to lure victims into playing rigged poker games alongside high-profile sports stars before stealing millions of dollars.
They did so using technology including special contact lenses and glasses that could read pre-marked cards and an X-ray table, according to authorities.
The NBA said in a statement that Rozier and Billups were being placed on immediate leave as it reviews the federal indictments.
We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority, it said.
Rozier's lawyer denied the allegations to CBS News, stating that Terry is not a gambler but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight.
He appeared in federal court in Orlando on Thursday and was released on bail after providing his $6 million Florida home as collateral.
Billups, who has been coaching the Portland Trail Blazers since 2021, was arrested in Portland and is also expected to provide a substantial bond for his release.
FBI Director Kash Patel held a news conference announcing the indictments, calling the arrests extraordinary and stating that they encompassed a coordinated takedown across 11 states. He emphasized the seriousness of the allegations, warning that the fraud and theft summed up to tens of millions of dollars.
Prosecutors said the first case involved players using private non-public information to manipulate bets on major gambling platforms, identifying seven NBA games that are part of the investigation. Rozier is said to be implicated in a game between the Charlotte Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans.
Rozier allegedly informed a friend that he would leave the game early due to an injury, prompting significant bets on his underperformance, which he did by leaving after just nine minutes.
The second indictment involves a mafia-backed scheme targeting those participating in illegal poker games, with players utilizing high-tech equipment and coercion to defraud victims, with losses amounting to millions.
This investigation shines a light on the burgeoning sports gambling scene, which boomed after the federal ban on sports betting was lifted in 2018, merging sports with criminal undertakings.
