How Cosa Nostra hit the NBA: X-ray machines, hidden cameras, and fake glasses

Casino is one of Martin Scorsese’s best movies. It tells the story of a professional gambler sent by the mafia to Las Vegas to take over a casino. The film is considered a work of art within the film noir genre. The operation carried out October 23 by the FBI, involving NBA players and several mafia families, could well have been lifted from this acclaimed piece of film making. In total, the FBI has arrested 37 individuals connected to the fraud ring.

“With the alleged involvement of three La Cosa Nostra crime families, an NBA head coach and Hall of Famer, as well as other current and former professional athletes, the investigative work that culminated with this morning’s operation are reminiscent of a Hollywood movie. But this was not luck, and it was not theatrics,” stated Ricky J. Patel, New York Special Agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), during the press conference to explain the details of the case that has ended with the arrest of Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, along with over 30 others.

In fact, the FBI yesterday carried out two operations regarding the NBA and fraudulent activity. On the one hand, it dismantled a network of rigged poker games, which used NBA players and figures as hooks. On the other, it uncovered a plot of illegal betting on games and arrested NBA player Terry Rozier, of the Miami Heat. The two operations have close ties to each other as they are part of a four-year investigation that has spanned 11 U.S. states.

Rigged poker games

The strongest suggestion that there is a link to the mafia is based on the organization of rigged poker games in locations such as New York, East Hampton and Miami, with organized crime pocketing millions of dollars.

“This morning, 31 defendants were arrested in 11 states, including members and associates of the Bonanno, Gambino, and Genovese organized crime families of La Cosa Nostra (LCN); Chauncey Billups, head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA); and Damon Jones, also known as “Dee,” a former NBA player with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat,” the FBI said in a statement.

Several members of organized crime families manipulated illegal poker games, such as Texas hold ’em, as part of “a highly sophisticated and lucrative fraud scheme to cheat victims out of millions of dollars.” They also “conspired with others to perpetrate their frauds,” according to Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The prosecutor explains that NBA players and former basketball league stars acted as hooks to lure victims into high-stakes poker games. The mafia network used cutting-edge technology to scam unsuspecting players, including rigged shuffling machines and specially designed contact lenses and sunglasses that were able to read the backs of cards, ensuring that the victims were stung with massive losses.

The FBI gives a detailed description of the operation of illegal items. In a legal poker hand, the dealer uses a shuffling machine that shuffles the cards at random before dealing them to all players in a certain order. But in rigged games, altered shuffling machines were used that contained hidden technology that allowed them to read all the cards in the deck. Since the cards were always dealt in a certain order to the players at the table, the machines could determine which player would have the winning hand. This information was transmitted to another outsider, who in turn transmitted it by cell phone to a member of the conspiracy playing at the table, known as the “Quarterback” or “Driver.”

The Driver passed on the information — usually through pre-established signals, such as touching certain chips or other objects on the table — to other accomplices playing at the table. Victims ended up losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The defendants also used other rigged technologies, such as a chip tray analyzer, which can read all the cards using hidden cameras, an X-ray table that can read the cards face down, and the aforementioned contact lenses or special glasses to read the pre-marked cards. The FBI explained in a note that, since 2019, the defendants had participated in several meetings to organize the wireless technology that would allow them to manipulate the games.

Recruiters and cheaters

Different roles were designated to different members of the criminal group. Among the accomplices were game organizers, who recruited victims to participate in clandestine games; suppliers of trap technology; former professional athletes, who were recruited as bait; teams of collaborative cheaters; money launderers; and members of the Bonanno, Gambino and Genovese organized crime families from La Cosa Nostra, who sponsored the games and kept a percentage of the profits.

The FBI describes two poker games organized by the mafia families in Manhattan. One of the games was held on Lexington Avenue, according to the Bonanno family records; another was held at Washington Place, according to Gambino family. “As part of the schemes, some of the charged defendants and other co-conspirators also committed acts of violence, including the robbery and extortions charged in the indictment,” the FBI statement said, adding that such violence was enacted “to ensure the repayment of debts and continued success of the operation.”

“These individuals used technology and deceit to scam innocent victims out of millions of dollars — eventually funneling money to La Casa Nostra and enriching one of the most notorious criminal networks in the world,” stated FBI Director Kash Patel.

Illegal Gambling

The other case detailed by the FBI was that of illegal gambling that has led to the arrest of Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, along with five other people. “As alleged, the defendants turned professional basketball into a criminal betting operation, using private locker room and medical information to enrich themselves and cheat legitimate sportsbooks,” said Attorney Nocella. “Insider betting schemes erode the integrity of American sports, and this Office will continue holding accountable anyone who seeks to corrupt them.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge in New York Christopher G. Raia added, “Former and current NBA players and coaches, including Terry Rozier, Damon Jones and additional co-conspirators, allegedly informed the defendants and others of confidential information relating to upcoming NBA games and player performances, such as pre-release medical information and a player’s intention to alter their upcoming game performance, which favored certain bettors within their inner social circle.”

The FBI’s indictment explains that this betting went on between December 2022 and March 2024. The federal investigative agency cites several examples.

March 23, 2023 — Charlotte Hornets Game. Terry Rozier, current Miami Heat guard, then a player for the Hornets, warned longtime friend Deniro Laster that he planned to leave the game early due to an alleged injury. Laster was able to place a wager based on that information. Three of the defendants took advantage of the confidential information to bet more than $200,000 that Rozier’s statistics were “under” their usual level. Rozier left the game after nine minutes of a mediocre performance. Many of the bets paid off, generating tens of thousands of dollars in profits. “Laster collected the cash and drove through the night to Rozier’s house, where together they counted the profits,” the FBI indictment states.

March 24, 2023 — Portland Trail Blazers Game. Another defendant, Eric Earnest, received and shared inside information from a longtime friend, then an NBA coach, that several of the Portland Trail Blazers’ top players would sit out a game against the Chicago Bulls. Before that information was made public, the defendants bet more than $100,000 against the Blazers. When the lineup change was later confirmed, betting lines shifted dramatically and the defendants’ bets generated big profits.

April 6, 2023 — Orlando Magic Game. Defendant Marves Fairley profited from a tip obtained through an internal connection with a then-Orlando Magic player. He learned that several of the team’s top players would sit out a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, information that had not yet been made public. A co-conspirator communicated the tip to the defendant, who bet approximately $11,000 that the Cavaliers would outperform the point spread. When the lineup change was later confirmed and the Cavaliers beat the Magic by 24 points, Fairley and his accomplice pocketed the winnings.

February 9, 2023, and January 15, 2024 — Los Angeles Lakers Games. Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones shared and sold inside information on numerous occasions about undisclosed information related to NBA games, such as lineup decisions and pregame medical information. His co-conspirators subsequently placed significant bets based on the information. For example, on Feb. 9, 2023, and Jan. 15, 2024, respectively, Jones provided his co-conspirators with inside information about medical issues concerning Los Angeles Lakers star players.

January 26, 2024, and March 20, 2024 — Toronto Raptors Games. Jontay Porter, then an NBA player with the Toronto Raptors, informed his accomplice Long Phi Pham and others that he would prematurely leave the games he had scheduled for January 26 and March 20, 2024, due to alleged injuries. Porter agreed to pull out of games early so that Pham and others could bet on this non-public information. Pham, in turn, provided this information to defendant Shane Hennan, who passed it on to Fairley. Subsequently, Hennen placed bets on Porter’s underperformance through a network of straw bettors. When Porter left both games early, many of the fraudulent bets generated sizeable amounts of money.

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