Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers Chauncey Billups were arrested on charges related to FBI investigation of illegal gamble.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the “historic arrest” on Thursday at a press conference, where he described a “broad and extensive criminal enterprise spanning both NBA and Our Home.”
“This is an illegal gambling and sports equipment operation that has been going on for years,” Patel said. “Not only have we uncovered the fraud that these criminals have committed on the main stage of the NBA, but we have also introduced and implemented a system of justice against Cosa Nostra, including the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese and Luchese crime families. The charges and arrests that have been made across the country range from wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery, illegal gambling – the FBI will leave no room for any criminal across the country.”
Former NBA player Damon Jones was also arrested as part of the investigation.
Rozier has been under investigation since at least January 2025, when – after a gambling scandal involving Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter – it was reported that a similar incident could happen to Rozier during the 2023 game; Rozier was heavily bet on the under in that game, with Rozier only playing nine minutes due to a foot injury.
While the investigation continued, Rozier was allowed to continue playing basketball as no charges or arrests were made. Rozier did not play in the Heat's season opener on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic.
Rozier's attorney, Jim Trusty, said in a statement. statement to CNN“We have been representing Terry Rozier for over a year. A long time ago, we approached these prosecutors and told them we needed to have an open line of communication. They characterized Terry as a subject, not a target, but they called me at 6 a.m. today to tell me that FBI agents were attempting to arrest him at a hotel.”
The statement continues: “Unfortunately, rather than allow him to turn himself in, they opted for a photo op. They wanted to gain undue fame by embarrassing a professional athlete with a criminal move. That says a lot about the motives in this case. They appear to be taking the word of an incredibly unlikely source rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing.”
Trusty added: “The NBA cleared Terry, and these prosecutors have reopened this case. Terry is not a player, but he is not afraid of a fight and hopes to win this fight.”
Billups was arrested for his alleged involvement in an illegal high-stakes poker game associated with organized crime; A similar investigation previously led to the arrest of former Washington Wizards All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas, who was indicted on federal charges in July for running an illegal underground high-stakes gambling operation.
The FBI accused Billups of being a “face card” – a celebrity used to attract and distract valuable players – for illegal and rigged poker games. “What the fish victims didn’t know was that everyone else in the poker game, from the dealer to the players, including the face cards, was involved in the fraud,” U.S. Attorney Joe Nocella said during a news conference.
“Once the gaming had begun, the defendants bilked victims out of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars per game. The defendants used a variety of highly sophisticated fraud techniques, some of which were provided by other defendants in exchange for a share of the profits from the scheme.”
A five-time All-Star and recent inductee into the National Basketball Hall of Fame, Billups coached the Trail Blazers in their season-opening game in Portland on Wednesday, hours before his arrest.
In July 2024, former NBA player Jontay Porterwho was prohibited banned from the league for life after he played in games he competed in as a member of the Toronto Raptors, pleaded guilty to a charge of wire fraud conspiracy in connection with the scandal.
The NBA accused Porter of violating the league's gambling rules, saying he provided information to sports bettors and withdrew from games to help his associates secure “unders” on bets based on his performance.
In a game between the Raptors and the Sacramento Kings in March 2024, Porter played just three minutes before “stating that he felt ill,” the statement said. Porter also placed bets on NBA games himself, including a bet that his own Raptors team would lose, according to a statement from the league. “Three bets were multi-game parlay bets that included one Raptors game in which Porter bet the Raptors would lose. All three bets lost,” the league said.
Porter faces up to four years in prison when he is sentenced in December 2025.
