A man standing accused of federal gambling crimes based on NBA basketball has denied that former Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups provided information relating to the Blazers’ fortunes for purposes of sports betting. That news was reported by Michael Rothstein of ESPN today. According to the article, Eric Earnest, “a key co-conspirator in the inside information gambling case involving NBA player Terry Rozier”, pled guilty to wire fraud charges on Thursday but claimed afterwards that Billups did not aid in the part of the gambling scheme he was involved in.
Per Rothstein:
…after the hearing, Earnest’s attorney, Peter Brill, told reporters, “Our position is that Chauncey Billups did not at any time provide inside information to Mr. Earnest that he used to place any bets.”
Brill described the allegation that Billups had provided Earnest with the information as a “fundamental disagreement” with the government.
The wrinkle here is that Billups has not been charged in conjunction with Earnest’s case. The allegations against Earnest involved an NBA coach whose tenure and position was congruent with Billups’ Trail Blazers career. The formal allegations against Billups stem from his involvement in rigged poker games. Those are different matters. But the threat to the sport—and Billups’ eventual involvement in it—may be governed by his connection with insider information and betting rather than the poker ring.
Billups’ trial on federal charges is set for March, 2027.