Four NBA teams have been named as having games involved in the FBI’s sweeping investigation into illegal sports gambling that led to the arrest of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and ex player Damon Jones, according to officials.
The multimillion-dollar scheme, which took place between January 2022 and March 2024, allegedly involved sharing non-public information with bettors such as when players would be sitting out games or would pull themselves early from games.
Law enforcement sources said that LeBron James is among the players whose injury status was leaked. He is not accused of wrongdoing.
Players and coaches, including Chauncey Billups, are accused of giving bettors non public information to help them. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The teams themselves are not implicated in wrongdoing, but Jones and Rozier are accused of providing the key information to help insiders make successful prop bets on NBA games.
“Defendants use this non-public information to place hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent bets, mostly in the form of prop bets on individual player performance,” said Joseph Nocella Jr., the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Ex player Damon Jones is accused of providing key information to help insiders make successful prop bets on NBA games. AP
LeBron James is among the players whose injury status was leaked, but is not accused of wrongdoing. NBAE via Getty Images
James and Jones in 2006. NBAE via Getty Images“The defendants relied on a network of straw bettors to place the maximum amount of bets to increase their potential profits. Most of these bets succeeded, and the intended losses were in the millions of dollars,” he said.
The FBI has arrested 31 people involved in a rigged poker game ring backed by the New York City organized crime families.
- Ernest Aiello — reputed Bonanno mobster
- Nelson “Spanish G” Alvarez
- Louis “Lou Ap” Apicella
- Ammar “Flapper Poker” Awawdeh
- Saul Becher — professional poker player
- Chauncey Billups — Portland Trail Blazers coach, NBA Hall of Famer and 2004 NBA champion
- Matthew “The Wrestler” Daddino
- Eric “Spooky” Earnest
- Lee Fama — professional poker player
- John Gallo
- Marco Garzon
- Thomas “Tommy Juice” Gelardo — reputed Lucchese mobster charged in 2013 for beating porn star girlfriend
- Jamie Gilet
- Tony “Black Tony” Goodson
- Kenny Han
- Shane “Sugar” Henne
- Osman “Albanian Bruce” Hoti
- Horatio Hu
- Zhen “Scruli” Hu
- Damon “Dee Jones” Jones — NBA player from 1998 to 2009
- Joseph Lanni
- John “John South” Mazzola
- Curtis Meeks
- Nicholas Minucci
- Michael Renzulli
- Anthony Ruggiero Jr.
- Anthony “Doc” Shnayderman
- Robert “Black Rob” Stroud
- Seth Trustman
- Sophia “Pookie” Wei
- Julius Ziliani
Former Cleveland Cavalier star Jones, who played in the NBA from 1998 to 2009, was also charged in Thursday’s indictment.
“Defendants use this non-public information to place hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent bets,” Joseph Nocella Jr., the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said. AFP via Getty Images
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the bust on Thursday morning just a few days after NBA’s opening night. APOne such instance involved Rozier when he was on the Charlotte Hornets.
He allegedly told friends he planned to leave a March 23, 2023 game with a purported injury.
His pals then dropped more than $200,000 on Rozier to hit the “under” on his prop bets, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Rozier exited the game after just nine minutes “generating tens of thousands of dollars in profit,” Tisch said. Members of the betting group then brought their winnings to Rozier’s house where they counted the cash.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch says Rozier’s friends spent more than $200,000 on him to hit the “under” on his prop bets. AFP via Getty Images
Terry Rozier was arrested in Miami over the scheme. AP
Rozier previously had been under investigation for unusual betting activity for the March 2023 game after online betting sites reported a suspicious number of gamblers taking Rozier “under” bets. Getty ImagesRozier, 31, was arrested by federal agents at a hotel in Orlando, Florida, early Thursday morning, hours after the Heat lost to the Orlando Magic in a game he did not play in due to a coach’s decision.
The veteran hooper previously had been under investigation for the unusual betting activity for the March 2023 game after online betting sites reported a suspicious number of gamblers taking Rozier “under” bets.
Follow The Post’s latest on the gambling scandal rocking the NBA:
- Terry Rozier could face new federal bribery charges in alleged gambling scheme
- Ex-NBA player Damon Jones expected to plead guilty in mob-tied gambling sweep
- Heat planning to cut Terry Rozier while on leave for NBA gambling investigation
- All 31 suspects in bombshell NBA poker case hauled into court as feds say plea negotiations ‘have already begun’
Each defendant in the NBA basketball gambling case has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, officials said.
“My message to the defendants who have been rounded up today is this. Your winning streak has ended. Your luck has run out. Violating the law is a losing proposition, and you can bet on that,” Nocella said.
