FBI arrests NBA athlete and coach for illegal betting

This Thursday (23), the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) arrested 31 people linked to sports betting schemes in the NBA, the main basketball league in the United States. Among those detained are Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat point guard Terry Rozier.

According to the investigation, the basketball scheme generated millions of dollars between 2022 and 2024. Rozier combined his gambling actions with illegal bettors, passing on confidential information. Investigators monitored suspicious betting movements related to the player, who has played for the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets. In the analysis carried out, he had atypical performances in the games in which possible frauds occurred.

According to the United States Attorney in Brooklyn, Joseph Nocella, bettors exploited privileged information mainly on the Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors teams.

In turn, Coach Billups, a member of the NBA Hall of Fame, is accused of involvement in a fraud unrelated to the world of basketball.

He is investigated for participating in rigged poker games. In the scheme, linked to the mafia, criminals set up sequenced shuffling mechanisms and marked decks, as well as installing cameras to view players’ cards.

To attract newcomers, mobsters paid well-known figures to participate in tournaments, and Billups was one of them.

According to the Reutersplayers from the most popular North American sports have already been punished in similar investigations. In addition to basketball, athletes from the NFL (American football), MLB (baseball) and NHL (ice hockey) have already been punished. As the report points out, the number of fraud accusations related to betting is increasing, following the release of online betting in more US states and greater accessibility.

Brazilian takes on the ‘Blazers’

With Billups’ arrest, Brazilian Tiago Splitter takes interim command of the Portland Trail Blazers.

An NBA champion as a player for the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, Splitter was an assistant on the Oregon team’s coaching staff.

He recently arrived at Portland after excelling as coach of Paris Basketball, with which he won the French title in his first experience in charge of a team.