FBI Busts Illegal NBA Betting Ring: Portland Coach Billups and Miami’s Rozier Arrested

The FBI has dismantled an illegal sports-betting network, leading to indictments of 34 individuals involved in unlawful wagering on NBA games and underground poker operations run through five mafia families. Among the charged are Chauncey Billups, current coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, and Terry Rozier, Miami Heat player.

The indictment names nine additional co-conspirators, including two former NBA players (residents of Oregon and Florida, respectively) and a coach who is a relative of Terry Rozier, according to television network ABC. The charges cover two major cases: one involving illegal sports bets and the other involving rigged poker games. U.S. federal prosecutor Joseph Nocella Jr. stated that six individuals are charged with conspiracies relating to insider sports betting, the indictment also names former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter.

The second case involves 31 defendants in a national scheme to rig illegal poker games, in which former professional athletes, with the help of technology and mafia organizations, defrauded underground poker participants of millions of dollars around New York. Chauncey Billups is alleged to have taken part. “We’re looking at multi‐tens of millions of dollars in frauds, thefts and heists in an investigation that spanned several years and even involved cryptocurrencies,” said Kash Patel during a New York press conference. The spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York, John Marzulli, added that 31 people are in custody and many more will be arrested or will surrender themselves.

According to the indictment, Terry Rozier and other conspirators accessed private information known only to NBA players or coaches, which could affect game outcomes or player performance. This information was allegedly provided to co-conspirators in exchange for a flat fee or share of the betting profits. Suspicious bets were placed on Terry Rozier in a March 23 game between the Charlotte Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans. Bookmakers across several U.S. states flagged an unusually high number of bets, 30 wagers in 46 minutes, totaling just under €12,000, on Rozier achieving fewer points, rebounds and assists than projected. When the bets were removed from the offer list, Rozier (then with Charlotte) played only ten minutes before going to the bench due to injury.

“Fake injuries allowed the defendants to reliably win bets,” said Jessica Tisch, the New York Police Commissioner, at the press briefing. Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, said that they had contacted prosecutors well in advance and Rozier wasn’t described as a suspect. “However this morning I get calls saying he’s been arrested in a hotel, instead of allowing him to turn himself in, they chose to humiliate a professional athlete,” Trusty said.

The NBA has previously voiced concerns about such special bets, due to the risk of manipulation. Sports betting has been legal in the U.S. since 2018, however illegal operations persist. The NBA has not commented on the arrests or indictments, nor have other professional U.S. sports leagues, according to ABC.