Spanish
Santo Domingo, RD.– Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, and Miami Heat point guard Terry Rozier, were arrested this Thursday as part of two extensive federal investigations related to illegal sports betting and rigged poker games, according to US authorities.
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The arrests are part of an FBI operation that spanned 11 states and more than a year of investigation, with a total of 34 people arrested and tens of millions of dollars involved. FBI Director Kash Patel called the case one of the largest sports fraud schemes in the modern era of online gambling. According to the indictment, Rozier allegedly used insider information from the NBA to facilitate bets in favor of an organized crime network, receiving payments and percentages of winnings in return. The player was arrested in a hotel in Orlando, Florida, a few hours after his team lost to the Orlando Magic, a game in which he did not participate due to a technical decision. For his part, Billups faces charges in a separate indictment for organizing and manipulating clandestine poker games in Oregon and New York, allegedly with the backing of mafia families. According to the authorities, the accused used advanced technology to defraud the victims with millions of dollars in losses. The federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella Jr., described the cases as "one of the most blatant sports corruption schemes since the legalization of online gambling in the United States." In addition to Billups and Rozier, among those arrested is former player and former assistant coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Damon Jones, accused of providing insider information about NBA games to others involved. The Rozier case is related to the scandal that in 2024 led to the expulsion of former player Jontay Porter, from the Toronto Raptors, after admitting to manipulating his performance to benefit sports betting. Billups, NBA champion and Finals MVP with the Detroit Pistons in 2004, was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024 and renewed his contract with the Trail Blazers last April. Rozier, 31 years old, is in the final season of his four-year, $96.3 million contract. The NBA, through its commissioner Adam Silver, stated that it is working with betting houses to strengthen controls and prevent manipulation in player betting markets.Both Billups and Rozier will appear in federal court in Oregon and Florida, respectively, in the coming hours.Source: ESPN“We are learning as we go and adjusting the controls to protect the integrity of the game,” Silver expressed.
