Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier Charged in Massive Mafia-Tied Poker Cheating Scheme

Illegal Poker Scheme Uncovered

• 💡 A sophisticated scheme to run rigged poker games across the United States, including locations like the Hamptons, Las Vegas, Miami, and Manhattan, has been exposed.
• 🎯 The operation, which began as early as 2019, targeted unsuspecting victims, referred to as "fish," luring them with the chance to play alongside former professional athletes.
• 💰 These "face cards," including former NBA player and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, and former NBA player Damon Jones, were part of the scam, with dealers and other players also in on the deception.

Advanced Cheating Technologies Employed

• 🛠️ Defendants utilized highly advanced cheating technologies, some provided by co-conspirators in exchange for a share of the profits.
• 🃏 Examples include altered shuffling machines that could predict card hands, poker chip tray analyzers with hidden cameras, special contact lenses or eyeglasses for reading marked cards, and X-ray tables to view face-down cards.
• 📈 An off-site operator would receive information and relay it to a "quarterback" at the table, who then signaled the advantage to other conspirators to win games and defraud victims.

Sweeping Federal Investigation and Arrests

• 🚨 A coordinated federal takedown across 11 states resulted in over 30 arrests, targeting a criminal enterprise involving both the NBA and La Cosa Nostra crime families (Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese).
• 🏀 In addition to Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was also taken into custody in a related illegal gambling case.
• ⚖️ Charges include wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery, and illegal gambling, with the total fraud estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars over several years.
• 🤝 The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the FBI, NYPD, HSI, and numerous other law enforcement agencies, highlighting the commitment to combating crime at all levels.