U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nacella Jr. revealed on Thursday that sweeping arrests made in the NBA over illegal sports betting includes dozens of indictments for an illegal poker scam backed by the mafia.
FBI Director Kash Patel at a Thursday press conference laid out the massive alleged fraud at the center of the new arrests, which include Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier.
According to Patel, the investigation spanned 11 states over the course of multiple years. Authorities said more arrests could be expected as the investigation moves forward.
Nacella Jr. spoke after and said there are “two major cases” at the center of the new arrests, one related to inside information being used for “illegal gambling.” and another that included a nationwide poker scam.
The prosecutor called it “one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States.”
A total of 31 people were allegedly involved in the rigged poker games where authorities allege that “high tech cheating technology” was used to “secretly fix” games. Some “former professional athletes” are among the alleged scammers, Nacella Jr. said, including former player Damon Jones.
Nacella Jr. said millions were stolen in these “underground poker” games. They were also allegedly backed by the Bonanno, Gambino, and Genovese crime families of La Cosa Nostra. Nacella Jr. stressed that defendants are innocent until proven guilty, but also sent a message to those caught up in the explosive investigation, which included some future betting advice.
“Your winning streak has ended,” Nacella Jr. declared. “Your luck has run out. Violating the law is a losing proposition and you can bet on that.”
Watch above via MSNBC.
The post Explosive NBA Investigation Includes Nationwide ‘Rigged Poker Games’ Run by Mafia first appeared on Mediaite.
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