The Steady Drip: NBA Head Coach and Player Charged in Sprawling Sports Betting, Mafia-Backed Poker Schemes (Connecting the Dots: Adam Silver, The National Basketball Association (NBA), The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) & Soros Funding, All Networking)

NBA Head Coach and Player Charged in Sprawling Sports Betting, Mafia-Backed Poker Schemes (Connecting the Dots: Adam Silver, The National Basketball Association (NBA), The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) & Soros Funding, All Networking)

NewsMax.com

Thursday, 23 October 2025 10:48 PM EDT

https://www.newsmax.com/thewire/miami-heat-kevin-rozier-gambling-probe/2025/10/23/id/1231549/

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 schemes to rake in millions by rigging sports bets and poker games involving Mafia families, authorities said.

Portland coach Chauncey Billups is charged in an indictment alleging a wide-ranging scheme to rig underground poker games that were backed by La Cosa Nostra crime families, authorities said. Heat guard Terry Rozier is accused in a separate case of participating in an illegal sports betting scheme using private insider NBA information, officials said.

Both men face money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy charges and were expected to make initial court appearances later Thursday.

In the first case, six defendants are accused of participating in an insider sports betting conspiracy that exploited confidential information about NBA athletes and teams, said Joseph Nocella, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. He called it "one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States."

The second case involves 31 defendants in a nationwide scheme to rig illegal poker games, Nocella said. The defendants include former professional athletes accused of using technology to steal millions of dollars in underground poker games in the New York area that were backed by Mafia families, he said.

"My message to the defendants who've been rounded up today is this: Your winning streak has ended. Your luck has run out," Nocella said.

A message seeking comment was left Thursday morning with Billups. Rozier's lawyer, Jim Trusty, said in a statement that his client is "not a gambler" and "looks forward to winning this fight." Trusty said the FBI had previously said his client was not a target in the probe.

But at 6 a.m. "they called to tell me FBI agents were trying to arrest him in a hotel," Trusty said. "It is unfortunate that instead of allowing him to self-surrender they opted for a photo op. They wanted the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete with a perp walk. That tells you a lot about the motivations in this case."

In the sports betting scheme, players sometimes altered their performance or took themselves out of games early, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. In one instance, Rozier, while playing for the Hornets, told people he was planning to leave the game early with a "supposed injury," allowing them to place wagers that raked in thousands of dollars, Tisch said.

The indictment of Rozier and others says there are nine unnamed co-conspirators, including a Florida resident who was an NBA player, an Oregon resident who was an NBA player from about 1997 to 2014 and an NBA coach since at least 2021, as well as a relative of Rozier.

Rozier and other defendants "had access to private information known by NBA players or NBA coaches" that was likely to affect the outcome of games or players' performances and provided that information to other co-conspirators in exchange for either a flat fee or a share of betting profits, the indictment says.

The NBA, which had investigated Rozier previously, had no immediate comment.

Rozier was in uniform as the Heat played the Magic on Wednesday evening in Orlando, Florida, in the season opener for both teams, though he did not play in the game. He was taken into custody in Orlando early Thursday morning. The team did not immediately comment on the arrest.

The case was brought by the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn that previously prosecuted ex-NBA player Jontay Porter. The former Toronto Raptors center pleaded guilty to charges that he withdrew early from games, claiming illness or injury, so that those in the know could win big by betting on him to underperform expectations.

Billups was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last year. The five-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA point guard led the Detroit Pistons to their third league title in 2004 as NBA Finals MVP. Boston drafted the former Colorado star with the No. 3 pick overall in 1997.

The player known as Mr. Big Shot also played for Toronto, Denver, Minnesota, the New York Knicks, and the Los Angeles Clippers. Billups won the Joe Dumars Trophy, the NBA's sportsmanship award, in 2009 while playing for his hometown Denver Nuggets.

The 49-year-old Billups is in his fifth season as Portland's coach, compiling a 117-212 record. The Trail Blazers opened the season Wednesday night at home with a 118-114 loss to Minnesota.

A game involving Rozier that has been in question was a matchup between the Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans on March 23, 2023. Rozier played the first 9 minutes and 36 seconds of that game — and not only did not return that night, citing a foot issue, but did not play again that season. Charlotte had eight games remaining and was not in playoff contention, so it did not seem particularly unusual that Rozier was shut down for the season's final games.

In that game, Rozier finished with five points, four rebounds and two assists in that opening period — a productive quarter but well below his usual total output for a full game.

Posts still online from March 23, 2023, show that some bettors were furious with sportsbooks that evening when it became evident that Rozier was not going to return to the Charlotte-New Orleans game after the first quarter, with many turning to social media to say that something "shady" had gone on regarding the prop bets involving his stats for that night.

A prop is a type of wager that allows gamblers to bet on whether a player will exceed a certain statistical number, such as whether the player will finish over or under a certain total of points, rebounds or assists.

Adam Silver

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Silver

Honors

Silver has sat on the board of trustees of NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital since 2023.

Early life and education

After high school, Silver went to Duke University.

After law school, Silver spent a year as a law clerk for Judge Kimba Wood of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.^[13] He then joined the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore as an associate.

Connecting the Dots:

Adam Silver is the current commissioner for the National Basketball Association (NBA), a board of trustee at Duke University, a board of trustees of NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital and was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

James L. Vincent was a trustee at Duke University and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.

Tallman Trask III was an EVP for Duke University and is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.

Letitia James is the chair for the Committee on Economic Development, the Attorney General of New York and obtaining her Juris Doctor degree at Howard University.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Committee for Economic Development.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, Mark Schwartz was his senior adviser and is the founder for the Soros Fund Management.

Mark Schwartz was George Soros senior adviser, the president & CEO for Soros Fund Management and is a trustee at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Jeffrey W. Greenberg is a trustee at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Glenn H. Hutchins is a trustee at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

David M. Rubenstein is a co-chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a trustee at Duke University.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) a senior director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund and a trustee at Howard University.

Adebayo O. Ogunlesi is a director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund and was an attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

Adam Silver was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, is a board of trustee at Duke University, a board of trustees of NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital and the current commissioner for the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr. is a senior counsel at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, a senior director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, the chairman emeritus for the Natural Resources Defense Council and married to Ellen Pao.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sundance Institute.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Robert Redford is a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, the founder & president of the Sundance Institute and was a director at the Apollo Alliance.

Ellen Pao was a director at the Apollo Alliance, a partner; the sued Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a corporate attorney for Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and is married to Alphonse Fletcher Jr.

Albert A. Gore Jr. is a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the chairman for the Climate Reality Project and was a donor for The Climate Project.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Climate Reality Project.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers was a donor for The Climate Project.

Colin L. Powell was a strategic adviser at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and an overseer at the International Rescue Committee.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International Rescue Committee.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, Mark Schwartz was his senior adviser and is the founder for the Soros Fund Management.

Howard S. Jonas was an overseer at the International Rescue Committee and is a trustee at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Roman Martinez IV is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee and a trustee at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Mark Schwartz is a trustee at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, was George Soros senior adviser, and the president & CEO for Soros Fund Management.

David H. Koch is a trustee at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Bloomberg Family Foundation was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Michael R. Bloomberg is a director at the Bloomberg Family Foundation, Emma Bloomberg’s father and was a donor for the Robin Hood Foundation.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Robin Hood Foundation.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Emma Bloomberg is a director at the Bloomberg Family Foundation, Michael R. Bloomberg’s daughter and was the chief of staff for the Robin Hood Foundation.

Daniel S. Och is a director at the Robin Hood Foundation and a trustee at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Richard S. Fuld Jr. was a director at the Robin Hood Foundation and is a trustee at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Adam Silver is a board of trustees of NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital, the current commissioner for the National Basketball Association (NBA), a board of trustee at Duke University and was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

David M. Rubenstein is a trustee at Duke University and a co-chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).