The NBA finds itself embroiled in a significant illegal gambling investigation involving players, coaches, and the Mafia, not as a Hollywood script but as a real-life scenario. The FBI’s probe, described as “mind-boggling” by FBI director Kash Patel, reveals fraudulent activities amounting to tens of millions of dollars over several years. In a recent development, the FBI announced a national crackdown on two illegal poker and sports-betting operations linked to Mafia groups, uncovering wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, and gambling activities.
The investigation focuses on two main cases: one concerning illegal sports betting and the other involving rigged poker games. U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. disclosed that six individuals are implicated in a sports betting conspiracy exploiting confidential NBA information, while another case includes 31 defendants participating in manipulating underground poker games with the aid of technology to defraud victims and steal millions.
Among those arrested are NBA figures such as Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones. Rozier is accused of involvement in an insider sports betting scheme, providing non-public NBA information to criminal associates for betting purposes. Billups faces allegations related to rigging poker games using sophisticated cheating methods like “X-ray tables.” Both individuals are charged with money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy.
The illegal activities also involved high-tech cheating devices like altered card shufflers and X-ray devices reading face-down cards, along with poker chip tray analyzers and special contact lenses. Mafia groups profited from the rigged games, extorting money from losing players and laundering proceeds through various means. The FBI’s Christopher Raia emphasized the deceitful allure of playing alongside famous personalities like Billups, which lured unsuspecting victims into the schemes.
In a separate case, the cheating technology utilized concealed mechanisms in shuffling machines to predict the best poker hand and communicate it to team members covertly. Additional cheating methods included electronic poker chip trays and card analyzers detecting table cards, as well as marked playing cards visible only with special lenses or glasses. Text messages exchanged among the defendants during their operations revealed strategic moves to avoid suspicion of foul play.
The unfolding events have sent shockwaves through the NBA community, with Rozier and Billups placed on immediate leave from their respective teams. The ongoing investigation continues to expose the intricate web of illegal gambling operations infiltrating professional sports and the lengths to which individuals went to deceive and defraud others.
[Source](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/nba-gambling-probe-9.6950164)