Footage Of NBA Players Being INTERROGATED Over Gambling Scandal Goes Viral
NBA’s Darkest Day: Billups, Rozier, and Jones Arrested in Massive FBI Takedown Linked to Mafia and Rigged Games
The NBA season had just tipped off, full of promise. Fans were electrified by Victor Wembanyama’s stunning 40-point, 15-rebound opener. The league was riding high.
Then, on October 23, 2025, it all came crashing down.
In a shocking series of pre-dawn raids, the FBI arrested three prominent NBA figures in a coordinated takedown spanning 11 states. This wasn’t just a simple betting violation; federal authorities have described it as a “wide-sweeping criminal enterprise” with direct ties to La Cosa Nostra.
Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former player Damon Jones were paraded into federal courtrooms, their arrests marking one of the most embarrassing and potentially devastating days in sports history.
The Courtroom Parade
The first court appearances painted a grim picture of the chaos:
Chauncey Billups: The 2004 Finals MVP and Hall of Famer appeared in Portland wearing a brown Klutch Sports hoodie. He looked on as prosecutors laid out allegations, and he was later released on a $100,000 bond.
Terry Rozier: The Heat guard was arrested at a team hotel in Orlando. He showed up to his arraignment in a black hoodie and colorful shorts, looking “like he wasn’t planning on being here today.” He was released on a hefty $250,000 bond, secured by his home.
Damon Jones: The 49-year-old former player, described as a key link in the scandal, was arrested in Cleveland. He appeared virtually and was released on a $150,000 bond with electronic monitoring.
All three were forced to surrender their passports and are banned from all forms of gambling.
The Bombshell Indictments: Two Schemes, One Massive Conspiracy
The federal indictments unsealed two distinct but interconnected operations, detailing a level of corruption that seems ripped from a Hollywood script.
1. Operation Nothing But Bet: Rigging the Game
This indictment alleges a brazen sports betting scheme to defraud sportsbooks by manipulating NBA prop bets.
Terry Rozier: The most explosive charge alleges that on March 23, 2023, Rozier (then with the Hornets) texted a co-conspirator that he would exit a game early with a fake shoulder injury. He played exactly 9 minutes and 34 seconds, allowing bettors to cash in on “under” prop bets to the tune of over $200,000. The indictment even alleges a video exists of Rozier and an associate counting the cash profits at his home.
Damon Jones: Jones is accused of acting as an information broker, leaking non-public injury information. He allegedly texted gamblers that “Player 3” (believed to be LeBron James) and “Player 4” (Anthony Davis) would sit out specific games, allowing for a $100,000 bet to be placed.
Chauncey Billups: An unnamed co-conspirator (whose profile matches Billups) allegedly tipped off bettors about the Trailblazers’ plan to rest key players for “tanking” purposes in a March 2024 game, leading to another big payday for the betting ring.
2. Operation Royal Flush: The Mafia Poker Ring
This is where the scandal becomes a full-blown crime saga. Federal prosecutors, led by FBI Director Cash Patel, have linked the defendants to a massive, illegal gambling operation run by four of New York’s notorious mafia families: the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese crime families.
The scheme involved high-stakes, rigged poker games in the Hamptons, Las Vegas, and Miami, designed to defraud high-rollers out of tens of millions of dollars.
The “Face Cards”: Billups and Jones allegedly acted as “face cards”—celebrities used to lure in wealthy victims, or “fish.”
The High-Tech Cheating: This was not simple card counting. The indictment alleges the ring used sophisticated cheating technology, including:
X-ray tables to see face-down cards.
Marked decks visible only through special contact lenses.
Modified card shufflers with hidden wireless tech.
Electronic poker chip trays that scanned cards in real time.
The Take: The scale is “mind-boggling.” Prosecutors estimate the fraud at over $715 million, with one John Doe alone losing $1.8 million in a single summer.
“The Tip of the Iceberg”
In a stunning press conference, FBI Director Cash Patel personally announced the arrests of over 34 individuals, calling this the “tip of the iceberg” and “one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes” ever.
The NBA’s reaction was one of pure terror. Commissioner Adam Silver, speaking publicly, said he had a “pit in my stomach” and called the allegations “deeply disturbing.” The league has placed both Billups and Rozier on indefinite paid administrative leave.
This scandal is a direct escalation of previous warnings. The Jontay Porter scandal, which saw him banned for life in April 2024, is now explicitly linked. Porter is named as a co-conspirator in the new indictments, with sources revealing he was extorted by mob associates over gambling debts.
Now, the NBA’s multi-billion dollar partnerships with betting sites like FanDuel and DraftKings are under intense scrutiny. A bipartisan House Committee has already demanded Commissioner Silver brief them on the league’s oversight failures by October 31st.
The defendants are staring down 20-year prison sentences for each wire fraud count. The NBA is staring down an existential crisis, one that threatens the very integrity of the game. And according to the FBI, the investigation is “very much ongoing.”
