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Are There Plea Deals on the Horizon for Defendants in Mob-Linked Gambling Case?

Federal prosecutors said in a court filing Thursday that they are in talks for a plea agreement with defendants indicted by the FBI in two gambling cases involving a current NBA player and coach.

The FBI reported in October that it had arrested almost three dozen individuals nationwide, including mafia members who were allegedly involved in two different sports betting schemes: one in which people were using confidential information to wager on NBA games, and another in which people were defrauded of tens of millions of dollars through a rigged poker scheme.

The U.S. Attorney's Office Eastern District of New York reports that 31 individuals from 11 states were accused in a seven-count indictment in the illegal poker game case, which involved a scheme that defrauded victims of millions of dollars in high-stakes poker games. The victims were at the mercy of hidden technology, such as specially made contact lenses and sunglasses that could read the back of playing cards and rigged shuffling machines that could read every card in the deck because they were always dealt to players at the table in a specific order.

Machines for Rigged Card Shuffling

Chauncey Billups, the coach of the Portland Trailblazers and an NBA Hall of Famer, is accused of using his position as a "Face Card" to trick gullible people into playing Texas Hold'em games since 2019.

Following years of inquiry, the Attorney General's office claims that funds from the plan were also transferred to La Cosa Nostra, one of the most infamous criminal networks globally, in a scenario straight out of The Sopranos. The October bust resulted in the arrest of members of three La Cosa Nostra mafia families.

According to the accusations, some of the accused defendants and other co-conspirators committed violent crimes, and mafia members were there to enforce debt collections in part.

Enforcement of Mobs

The court documents pertaining to the plea offer negotiations were submitted by the federal prosecutors to the U.S. District Court overseeing the poker case on Thursday.

“Although it is too early for the government and any of the defendants to engage in substantial plea negotiations, the government and defense counsel for several defendants have begun productive discussions that the government hopes will ultimately lead to resolutions as to several defendants without the need for a trial,” federal prosecutors said in the court filings.

However, it was unclear whether of the 31 people detained were negotiating plea agreements. On Monday, Billups is scheduled to be arraigned in New York on counts of conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and wire fraud, all of which carry potential 20-year penalties. According to Billups' lawyer, his client is innocent and will enter a not guilty plea. The attorney for former NBA player Damon Jones, who was also implicated in the poker conspiracy, likewise did so. Jones previously entered a not guilty plea to the allegations.

Scheme for Sports Betting

Insider information on Miami guard Terry Rozier was leaked for gambling purposes in the other gambling case. During his time with the Charlotte Hornets, Rozier allegedly pulled himself out of a game early in March 2023 so that under bettors could cash in, and Rozier received a portion of the proceeds. The NBA player is accused of giving insider information to bettors who wagered on games involving the Trail Blazers, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Charlotte Hornets over a one-year period.

On December 8, Rozier will be arraigned. He will enter a not guilty plea, according to his attorney. Rozier, who makes $26.6 million a season, is not getting paid since he is on leave from the NBA. According to a source in this story, Rozier might get his withheld income all at once if he is exonerated of the accusations.

In addition, Billups' NBA income is being withheld while he is on leave.