FBI Uncovers Massive NBA Gambling & La Cosa Nostra Scheme

Historic Takedown of Criminal Enterprise

• FBI Director Kash Patel announced a sweeping criminal enterprise involving the NBA and La Cosa Nostra, leading to over 30 arrests across 11 states.
• Charges include wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery, and illegal gambling, targeting tens of millions of dollars in fraud over several years.
• The operation successfully infiltrated both the NBA's fraud schemes and the La Cosa Nostra crime families (Bonanno, Gambino, Lucchese).

NBA Insider Betting Conspiracy

• One indictment details a sports corruption scheme exploiting confidential information about NBA athletes and teams.
• Defendants allegedly used nonpublic information, including player injury statuses and early exits, to place hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent bets, primarily on player performance props.
• In one instance, a current player allegedly threatened a player to obtain information due to gambling debts.
• Laundered winnings were funneled through peer-to-peer platforms, bank wires, and cash exchanges.

Rigged Poker Games and Mafia Involvement

• A second indictment charges 31 defendants in a nationwide scheme to run rigged illegal poker games using high-tech cheating technology.
• Participants, including former professional athletes referred to as 'face cards,' lured victims into games where the dealer and other players were complicit.
• Sophisticated cheating devices, such as altered shuffling machines, poker chip tray analyzers, and X-ray tables, were used to predict hands and cheat victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars per game.
• The Mafia families (Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese) were involved in organizing games, collecting debts, and taking a cut of the profits.
• Acts of violence, including gunpoint robbery and extortion, were used to enforce debts and obtain cheating equipment.

Key Figures and Impact

• Notable figures arrested include Terry Rozier (current NBA player) and Chauncey Billups (current NBA head coach and Hall of Famer).
• The investigation highlights the evolution of organized crime, integrating advanced technology and collaborating with prominent figures in professional sports.
• The FBI emphasized their commitment to keeping America safe and its entertainment industry fair and secure, with investigations ongoing.
• Authorities are encouraging anyone with information about either scheme to contact the FBI.