Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat's Terry Rozier among dozens arrested in federal gambling-related investigation

Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and dozens of other people were hit with federal charges Thursday as part of a sweeping investigation into illegal sports gambling and poker rigging schemes allegedly backed by the Mafia.

The extraordinary federal takedown led to the arrests of more than 30 people across 11 states on charges including wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery and illegal gambling, FBI Director Kash Patel announced at a news conference.

“The fraud is mind-blogging,” Patel told reporters, referring to the alleged wrongdoing as a “criminal enterprise that envelops both the NBA and La Cosa Nostra.”

U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. outlined two cases: an insider sports betting scheme and a high-tech plot to rig underground poker games.

In the first case, dubbed “Operation Nothing But Bet” by federal agents, prosecutors accuse six defendants of participating in an insider sports betting scheme that “exploited confidential information” about basketball players and teams, Nocella told reporters at the news conference.

Nocella called that alleged conspiracy “one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since only sports betting became widely legalized in the United States.”

Rozier was charged in that indictment. The former Charlotte Hornets player was arrested Thursday morning in Orlando, Florida, and he is expected to be arraigned inside the city’s federal courthouse later Thursday.

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups talks Wednesday night with Deni Avdija. Jaime Valdez / Imagn Images

In the second case, dubbed “Operation Royal Flush,” prosecutors accuse 31 defendants of a plot to rig underground poker games. The suspects allegedly used high-tech cheating gadgets to steal millions of dollars from games backed by four of the “Five Families” that have long ruled organized crime in the New York area.

The high-tech equipment described by Nocella included poker chip trays that secretly read cards with a hidden camera, special contact lenses that can read pre-marked cards, and an X-ray table that can read cards face down on the table.

Billups was charged in that indictment, along with former NBA player Damon Jones. It was not immediately clear where Billups was arrested, but the coach and former NBA player was set to be arraigned later Thursday in Portland, Oregon, where he lives, according to officials with the Eastern District of New York. Billups coached the Blazers on Wednesday night in Portland.

Jones was arrested in Las Vegas.

“Your winning streak has ended,” Nocella said at the news conference, addressing the defendants in the “Royal Flush” case. “Your luck has run out. Violating the law is a losing proposition, and you can bet on that.”

Three of the defendants were allegedly involved in both cases, according to Christopher Raia, assistant director in charge of the FBI’'s New York field office.

In a statement to NBC News, Rozier’s attorney said he had “reached out to these prosecutors to tell them we should have an open line of communication.”

Damon Jones with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2006. Ron Hoskins / NBAE via Getty Images file

“They characterized Terry as a subject, not a target, but at 6 a.m. this morning they called to tell me FBI agents were trying to arrest him in a hotel,” said the lawyer, Jim Trusty. “It is unfortunate that instead of allowing him to self-surrender, they opted for a photo-op.”

“They wanted the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete with a perp walk. That tells you a lot about the motivations in this case,” Trust added. “They appear to be taking the word of spectacularly in-credible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing. Terry was cleared by the NBA, and these prosecutors revived that non-case. Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight.”

Terry Rozier with the Charlotte Hornets in 2023. Kate Frese / NBAE via Getty Images file

Billups’ attorney and the Miami Heat did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a statement, the NBA said it was in the “process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today. Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave 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.”

The Blazers said the team was cooperating with the investigation and Tiago Splitter will be the interim head coach.

Rozier, an Ohio native and 10-year NBA veteran, was picked 16th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2015 NBA draft after playing college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals.

Billups has coached since 2021, following a widely lauded 17-season playing career that culminated in the sport’s highest honor: enshrinement in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.

A high school and collegiate star out of Colorado, Billups, 49, entered the NBA in 1997 as the third overall draft pick. By 2014, his clutch baskets and on-court leadership were vital to Detroit’s NBA championship over the Lakers. The title run earned him the nickname “Mr. Big Shot” and the honor of being named the NBA Finals MVP, and it transformed his career. Between 2006 and 2010, Billups was voted an All-Star five times.

Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons drives against Jameer Nelson of the Orlando Magic in 2008. D. Lippitt / Einstein / NBAE via Getty Images file

After retiring in 2014, Billups worked as an NBA analyst for ESPN. After one season as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers, he was hired by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2021.

Law enforcement’s interest in Billups comes four months after another NBA star, Gilbert Arenas, was arrested and indicted after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California alleged he was involved in helping operate illegal, high-stakes poker games out of a Los Angeles-area home that Arenas owned.

Investigations into gambling have extended to active NBA players in recent seasons, as well. Jontay Porter pleaded guilty in federal court and was banned by the NBA for life in 2024 for violating the league’s sports gambling rules, with the league alleging that the Toronto Raptors forward had bet on NBA games and disclosed confidential information about his own participation to bettors. He is set to be sentenced in December.