Game Fixed: FBI Uncovers Decades-Long NBA Gambling Ring Tied to Mafia and Star Athletes

Federal authorities have announced a massive indictment involving 31 people, including several NBA players and coaches, in what’s being described as one of the largest sports gambling scandals in U.S. history. The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York revealed that the decades long scheme was tied to at least four major organized crime families the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese families and involved tens of millions of dollars laundered through illegal betting operations and rigged poker games. Among those arrested are Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, who are accused of participating in separate but connected schemes: Rozier allegedly supplied insider injury and lineup information to betting circles, while Billups is accused of organizing underground poker events that were manipulated using hidden technology. Federal investigators say the operation spanned 11 states and had ties reaching back decades, describing it as a “historic threat to the integrity of professional sports.” The NBA has not yet released an official statement, and the full list of those charged has not been made public, but officials suggest this case could expose the deepest connection yet between organized crime and modern sports betting.

I think this opens lawsuits for bettors on the wrong side and just in general. Watch the house of cards begin to fall.

I'm glad this is coming out but you do realize this is all just a distraction to something bigger right?

Something bigger is happening while this is being reported. 

@Moose6836

 No this is nothing new. Remember Tim Donaghy?

Just the tip of the iceberg. Law enforcement will tell you that only about 5 percent of crime in general or drugs coming across the border will be caught and this is so likely the case here.

The NBA will........never.........recover from this and I will say this all sports will take a major credibility hit from this especially from a props perspective.

I would go as far as saying the nba is as corrupt as the serie A Italy soccer league. 

@CJL1989

 It’s really bad dude. 

I just can’t believe there were ppl out there who don’t think sports r rigged. What more do u need? I believe it’s all sports and if we knew how much there would be riots. Like the presidency I believe a lot is pre planned and the masters of the leagues make the decisions. 

Organized crime = deep state/US Government. This "investigation" is all a diversion tactic, smoke & mirrors. Everybody from the top on down is involved in "professional sports" manipulation. Bread and circus. Leave a trail of crumbs, keep them entertained, and they will never revolt.

@DefenseWinsSB

Be careful with the "R" word. Covers will put you in the Penalty Box, no joke.

Imo, NFL is way more R than any other major sports but they won't touch it since it generates so much money for the Globalist Scums.

And also, Trump or Biden they all work for the same bosses. They're just there to divide the Team Plebs. 

Some of this may be repeated above, but WOW!!!

The head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and a player for the Miami Heat were arrested Thursday, along with more than 30 other people in two criminal cases alleging sprawling separate schemes to rake in millions by rigging sports bets and poker games involving Mafia families, authorities said.

Portland coach Chauncey Billups was charged with participating in a conspiracy to fix high-stakes card games in Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan and the Hamptons that were backed by La Cosa Nostra Crime families. Heat guard Terry Rozier was accused of a second scheme to concoct fraudulent bets by exploiting confidential information about NBA athletes and teams. Also arrested was former NBA assistant coach and player Damon Jones, who is charged with participating in both schemes.

The indictments unsealed in New York create a massive cloud for the NBA — which opened its season this week — and show how certain types of wagers are vulnerable to massive fraud in the growing, multi-billion-dollar legal sports-betting industry.

Both men face money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy charges and were expected to make initial court appearances later Thursday.

Damon Jones also arrested.

Billups was winning so much, he had to lose on purpose, prosecutors say. 

The detention memo notes that the rigged poker scheme began as early as 2019 and involved locations across the US, including the Hamptons, Manhattan, Las Vegas, and Miami.

The memo describes sophisticated technology such as card shuffling machines that had been secretly altered to incorporate concealed technology that could read the cards in the deck, predict which players at the table had the best poker hand, and relay that information to offsite operators in other states.

Prosecutors say in the memo that defendants also used other cheating technology, including a poker chip tray analyzer, which secretly read cards using hidden cameras, an X-ray device that could read cards as they were kept face down on the table, and special contact lenses or eyeglasses that could read pre-marked cards

Prosecutors, in their detention memo, asked a judge to impose “substantial bail conditions” before releasing all the defendants in the poker rigging case, including a prohibition on any form of gambling, travel restrictions, surrendering their passport, and prohibiting the transfer of assets valued at or greater than $10,000 without the permission of the court.

For Billups, they noted that he has “substantial financial resources.”

“As an NBA player from 1997 to 2013, his lifetime career earnings exceeded $100 million, and he currently has a multi year contract to serve as the head coach of the Portland Trailblazers for an undisclosed salary,” the memo reads.

Nocella said the scheme targeted victims known as “fish,” who were lured to participate in the rigged games with the chance to play alongside former athletes who were known as “face cards.” Billups was one of those celebrities, Nocella said.

The games were rigged through sophisticated cheating technology, such as altered card shuffling machines, hidden cameras in poker chip trays, special sunglasses and even X-ray equipment built into the table to read the cards of unsuspecting players.

And once the “fish” lost, the mafia used extortion and violence to make sure they paid their gambling debts, Nocella said.

Losses top $7 million and counting the commissioner said.

Organizers brought in well-known former and current players and coaches to appear legitimate and used hidden cameras, bar-coded decks and shuffling machines that could read the order of cards, Tisch said.

“Victims believed that they were sitting at a fair table,” she said. “Instead, they were cheated out of millions.”

Losses exceed $7 million and continue to grow, with one victim losing $1.8 million, Tisch said. When people refused to pay, the defendants used threats, intimidation, and violence, she said.

Former NBA player Jontay Porter is named among “other relevant individuals” in the indictment.

Fake injuries enabled sure bets.