LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and a player for the Miami Heat were arrested Thursday along with more than 30 other people in two criminal cases alleging sprawling separate schemes to rake in millions by rigging sports bets and poker games involving Mafia families, authorities said.
Portland coach Chauncey Billups was charged with participating in a conspiracy to fix high-stakes card games in Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan and the Hamptons that were backed by La Cosa Nostra Crime families.
Watch the full briefing by authorities here, courtesy of ABC News:
Heat guard Terry Rozier was accused in a second scheme to concoct fraudulent bets by exploiting confidential information about NBA athletes and teams.
Both men face money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy charges and were expected to make initial court appearances later Thursday.
Also arrested was former NBA assistant coach and player Damon Jones, who is charged with participating in both schemes.
Joseph Nocella, the U.S attorney for the Eastern District of New York, called it "one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States.”
"The fraud is mind boggling," FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters. “We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery across a multi-year investigation.”
During a press conference on Thursday with the FBI's Special Agent in Charge of the Las Vegas area, the agent deferred all questions regarding this operation to the New York office.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.