NBA legend Chauncey Billups and Heat’s Terry Rozier arrested as part of FBI gambling investigation

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA guard and coach Damon Jones were among more than two dozen arrested as part of a wide-ranging FBI investigation Thursday, officials said Thursday.

The federal investigation involved multiple agencies and the NYPD as they targeted La Cosa Nostra crime families in two separate operations in several states. Authorities said Billups, Rozier and Jones face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

“Day after day, this FBI is following the money, and today is the result of that outstanding work,” FBI Director Kash Patel told News Digital in an exclusive statement. “This operation involved an expansive effort across 11 states to arrest 34 subjects, including multiple NBA players and coaches, who allegedly took advantage of their own positions of power to manipulate gaming systems for their own benefit, ultimately funneling money to La Cosa Nostra, enriching some of the most notorious criminal networks in the world.

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“That ends today, and the FBI’s efforts to ensure that gambling operations of all types remain within the law are just beginning. Thank you to the outstanding men and women of the FBI who followed this case and followed the facts accordingly.”

The NBA placed Billups and Rozier on immediate leave.

“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today,” the league said. “Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups will be immediately released from their teams and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”

Officials detailed their two operations (Zhen Diagram and Nothing But Net) at a news conference in New York.

“Your winning streak is over. Your luck has run out. Breaking the law is a losing proposition and you can bet on that,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella.

Federal authorities launched an investigation, dubbed Operation Zhen Diagram, into a nationwide gambling ring that allegedly involved members of the La Cosa Nostra crime families who allegedly defrauded millions of unwitting victims.

The FBI said profits from the activity were allegedly laundered by members of the network and at some points converted into cryptocurrency to avoid detection by authorities.

The FBI said a confidential source recorded more than 3,000 phone calls and meetings with targets of its investigation. The source introduced the undercover agents to the targets and participated in a rigged poker game.

Officials said the poker games involved cheating devices, such as rigged shuffling devices and X-ray tables.

Billups was arrested as part of the illegal poker takedown. Nocella said the alleged conspirators targeted victims known as “fish” who lured victims by giving them the opportunity to play alongside former professional athletes known as “face cards.” He said Billups and Jones were dubbed a “figure card” by schemers.

NBA PLAYER TERRY ROZIER’S LAWYER TURNS TO FBI AFTER ARREST

Nocella said the “fish” didn’t know the “figures” were involved in the scam.

Nocella said schemers were given non-public information about who would miss future games or when they would retire early due to injury or illness. Former Toronto Raptors Jontay Porter received a lifetime ban from the NBA and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of a game plan last year.

“In one case they obtained their information by threatening a current player, Porter, due to his pre-existing gambling debts,” Nocella said. “The defendants used this information to place hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent bets, primarily in the form of prop bets on an individual player’s performance.

“The defendants relied on a network of fake bettors to place the maximum number of bets to increase their potential winnings. The majority of these bets were successful and the anticipated losses were in the millions of dollars. The defendants then laundered their illegal profits in a variety of ways.”

“The indictment details specific examples in which the defendants benefited from illegal gambling and betting on various NBA games on the performance of players, among others, from the Charlotte Hornets, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Toronto (Raptors).

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Rozier faked an injury to leave a March 23, 2023, game between the Charlotte Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier allegedly told co-defendant Deniro Laster that he was leaving the game so Laster could bet.

The NBA cooperated with the investigation.

The Heat referred to the NBA statement.

News Digital reached out to the Trail Blazers for comment.

Rozier did not play during the Heat’s game Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic. He was with the Hornets from 2019 until midway through the 2023-24 season.

Billups was on the sideline for the Trail Blazers against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He became their head coach ahead of the 2021-22 season after a Hall of Fame career with the Detroit Pistons and other teams. He won an NBA title with the Pistons and was a three-time All-Star.

Jones played in the NBA from 1998 to 2009 on 10 different teams. It is linked to a bet during a Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks game.

James Trusty of Ifrah Law PLLC issued a statement regarding Rozier’s arrest:

“We have represented Terry Rozier for over a year. We reached out to these prosecutors a long time ago to say we should have an open line of communication,” Trusty told News. “They characterized Terry as a subject, not a target, but at 6 a.m. this morning they called me to tell me that FBI agents were trying to arrest him at a hotel.

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“It’s unfortunate that instead of allowing him to turn himself in, they opted for a photo op. They wanted the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete with a criminal ride. That says a lot about the motivations in this case. They seem to be taking the word of spectacularly incredible sources instead of relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing. Terry was acquitted by the NBA and these prosecutors revived that non-case. Terry is not a player, but “He is not afraid of the fight and hopes to win it.”

READ THE POKER ACCUSATION BELOW

READ THE GAMBLING ALLEGATION BELOW

News’ David Spunt and Ryan Canfield contributed to this report.

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