WASHINGTON (TNND) — From X-ray tables to hidden cameras and even pre-marked cards, prosecutors say the suspects in Thursday's NBA-Mafia-linked gambling bust used a wide range of sophisticated technology to cheat victims out of millions of dollars. At Thursday's news conference, officials said the poker scheme, dubbed 'Operation Royal Flush,' started as early as 2019, with rigged games being played in big markets like New York City.
The games, backed by multiple Mafia families.
> The FBI led a coordinated takedown across 11 states to arrest over 30 individuals today responsible for this case," said FBI Director Kash Patel.
The victims, called "fish," were lured into games with the chance to play alongside professional athletes called "face cards."
Including former NBA player Damon Jones and Portland Trailblazers head coach [Chauncey Billups.](https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/portland-trail-blazers-coach-chauncey-billups-arrested-in-gambling-operation-scandal-abc-news-kash-patel-fbi)
> What the victims, the fish, didn't know is that everybody else at the poker game, from the dealer to the players, including the face cards, were in on the scam," said Joe Nocella, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Those who participated allegedly used self-shuffling machines, secretly altered to read the cards in the deck and predict which player had the best hand. That information was sent to someone off-site who then relayed it back to the table to the "quarterback."
> The quarterback then signaled secretly the information he had received," Nocella said.
The defendants also allegedly used a poker chip tray that secretly read cards with a hidden camera. Special contact lenses that could read pre-marked cards and an X-ray table that could do the same.
> This alleged scheme wrecked havoc across the nation. Exploiting the notoriety of some and the wallets of many," said Christopher Raia, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office.
Officials said the scheme cheated victims out of tens of thousands of dollars per game. Which to a former federal prosecutor and President of West Coast Trial Lawyers, Neama Rahmani, said, this could land Billups, among others, some serious jail time.
> People lost millions of dollars and to the extent that the sentencing guidelines are based on the amount of the loss or the amount of the fraud, he could be looking at years in federal prison," Rahmani said.
Rahmani added, normally, with these federal indictments, you expect to see guilty pleas. But he says this case may be a little different, in part, because professional reputations are on the line.
> Expect to see a fight in this case. I don't necessarily think all the defendants are going to roll over like you typically see," said Rahmani.
Billups, along with the other players involved, like the Miami Heat's Terry Rozier, have been placed on leave from their teams as the NBA reviews the federal indictments. Rozier's attorney said his client isn't a gambler and he looks forward to winning this fight.