Chauncey Billups (Team profile photo)
Beloved ex-Detroit Pistons star Chauncey Billups, aka "Mr. Big Shot," who has been head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers since 2021, has been charged in a federal investigation linked to a rigged illegal poker operation with ties to the New York Mafia, federal authorities announced Thursday at a press conference in New York.
Billups, 49, a Hall of Famer who was arrested Thursday in Portland, is scheduled to make his initial appearance later in the day in federal court on one count of wire fraud conspiracy and four counts of money laundering conspiracy. The indictment was filed Oct. 9, but had been under seal until now.
Billups is expected to remain free pending the outcome of the case.
KATU-TV in Portland reports that the NBA has placed Billups on immediate leave, saying, "We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority."
FBI Assistant Director Christopher Raia said Billups was allegedly recruited to play in the fixed poker games to make them appear legitimate.
"Victims were attracted to play alongside well-known professional athletes and coaches like Chauncey Billups, only to be unknowingly deceived through rigged shuffling machines, fixing the odds in their favor, as alleged," he said at the press conference.
The indictment alleges that Billups and former NBA player Damon Jones were "Face Cards" designed to attract wealthy gamblers, and that they were part of the "Cheating Team." They got a cut of the action for their participation.
In all, from 2019 to present, the feds estimate the rigged games cheated players out of more than $7.1 million.
FBI Director Kash Patel said at the morning press conference in Brooklyn: “It’s not popular to go after some of the defendants we went after today. Justice is served blindly.
Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said that Billups was part of a 31-person indictment alleging a nationwide scheme to rig underground poker games using high-tech cheating technology to steal millions of dollars from victims. The scheme began in 2019.
He said the games “were secretly fixed,” and that in the New York area they were backed by Mafia crime families — Bonanno, Gambino, and Genovese. Other games were in places like Las Vegas and Miami.
Additionally, a separate gambling indictment — which did not include Billups — involved six defendants accused of being part of an illegal nationwide sports betting operation. Nocella described it as “one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States.”
“This scheme is an insider sports betting conspiracy that exploited confidential information about National Basketball Association athletes and teams,” he said.
Typically, such information includes details about injuries or players who may not be feeling well before a game and might not play.
Billups coached in the season opener Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Trail Blazers were 36–46 last year and did not make the playoffs.
Billups played for the Pistons from 2002 to 2008 and again in 2013–14 before retiring from the NBA. He earned the nickname “Mr. Big Shot” for consistently making big shots in clutch situations. He was a key player on the Pistons’ 2004 championship team under Coach Larry Brown.
Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and ex-assistant coach Damon Jones were also charged. Jones was named in both indictments.
There was nothing on the Trail Blazers’ website referring to the charges. Though, as expected it was the top story on The Oregonian, Portland's main news publication. As of noon, NBA.com had not posted any news on the matter.
He reportedly earned $4.7 million as coach last season but has since received a pay raise.[embedded content]