PHILADELPHIA — A sports betting scandal involving Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier has roiled the NBA and threatens to undermine the $13 billion sports betting industry.

Billups and Rozier are among 34 people across 11 states charged in connection with two separate schemes — defrauding sports gamblers and a rigged poker game run in connection with New York City mafia families.

Among those involved was Shane Hennen, 40, a professional gambler originally from the Pittsburgh suburbs who allegedly handed off cash to his co-conspirators in Philadelphia.

Former Cleveland Cavaliers player-turned-coach Damon Jones was also arrested for allegedly selling inside information on injuries and participating in the illegal poker scheme.

“This is the insider trading scandal for the NBA,” FBI Director Kash Patel said during a news conference Thursday announcing the charges, which include wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracies to commit extortion and robbery.

Officials accuse Rozier and others of altering their performance to get big payouts

In the sports betting case, Rozier and others are accused of leaving games early or altering their performance to make hundreds of thousands of dollars on prop bets, defrauding both sportsbooks and other legitimate gamblers.

In one example, provided by New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Rozier told his co-conspirators he was planning to exit a 2023 game early due to a supposed injury.

“Using that information, members of the group placed more than $200,000 in wagers on his under statistics,” Tisch said. “Rozier exited the game after just nine minutes, and those bets paid out, generating tens of thousands of dollars in profit.”

“The proceeds were later delivered to his home, where the group counted their cash,” Tisch added.

U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. described it as “one of the most brazen sports corruptions schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the U.S.”

Rozier’s lawyer, Jim Trusty, told CNN in a statement his client “looks forward to winning this fight.”

The accusations mirror the actions that led the NBA to ban former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter from the league for life after their investigation revealed he leaked “confidential information to sports bettors” to win under bets. Porter later pleaded guilty to charges that he faked injuries or illnesses to leave games early.

The NBA had investigated Rozier and announced in January it “did not find a violation of NBA rules.” The league said Thursday they take the new allegations “with the utmost seriousness.”

Joseph Nocella Jr., the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said the indictment also details the actions of unnamed players on teams that include the Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Lakers. The indictment remained sealed online Thursday.

Two of the unnamed coconspirators were from Pennsylvania, according to the indictment.

Cash was handed off in Philly, officials said

Prosecutors allege Rozier colluded with Hennen, who figures prominently in the most recent indictment — and an earlier gambling probe involving Temple University’s basketball team, which led to his arrest in January.

Hennen, known as “Sugar” in gambling circles, used nonpublic information that he obtained through his NBA contacts to facilitate a series of fraudulent bets over the last three years, according to one of the complaints unsealed Thursday. In one instance, he allegedly used Philadelphia as a meeting point to dole out the ill-gotten proceeds to other bettors.

On March 28, 2023, Mississippi-based sports handicapper Marves Fairley traveled to Philadelphia to meet Hennen to collect proceeds from wagers the duo had placed on one of Rozier’s games earlier that month, federal authorities contend.

Rozier had, according to the complaint, planned to “exit prematurely” from the March 23 matchup between the Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier played the first nine minutes of the game but then withdrew, citing a foot issue.

The scheme involved other men. De’Niro “Peyso” Laster, a former college linebacker, also met with Fairly in Philadelphia on March 28 to collect tens of thousands of dollars in cash based on more fraudulent winnings linked to the same game.

The suit alleges that Rozier paid for the costs of Laster’s travel to the city, and that Fairley and Laster then drove from Philadelphia to North Carolina to meet with the player at his home and count their winnings.

On March 29, the day after prosecutors allege they met up in the city, Hennen posted a photo of himself and Fairley sitting courtside at a Sixers game.

Hennen also appears linked to a point-shaving scheme involving former Temple University basketball player Hysier Miller, in a likely related investigation, according to reports published by Sports Illustrated and ESPN.

Earlier this year, the NCAA revealed it was investigating unusual bets placed around a March 7, 2024 game between Temple and Alabama-Birmingham. An ESPN report linked that game to Hennen, who was arrested by federal authorities in January while attempting to board a flight to Panama.

Miller was released by the team in October 2024, with sources indicating that his departure was likely linked to the gambling investigation.

Damon Jones appears to have sold inside info on LeBron James while a coach for the Lakers

Jones, who served as an unofficial assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2022-23 season, is accused of tipping off the team’s decision to rest a “prominent NBA player” ahead of a matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 9, 2023.

The unnamed player appears to be LeBron James, who sat out that game due to a sore left ankle. James played with Jones on the Cleveland Cavaliers, but there is no indication the NBA superstar was aware of the illegal betting scheme.

“Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out!” Jones texted, according to the indictment.

According to the indictment, Jones leaked inside information he had to co-conspirators multiple times during the season, including before a Jan. 2024 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Billups accused of teaming with mob figures for illegal poker game

In a second case, Billups is charged with participating in a nationwide scheme involving New York City mafia figures to rig illegal poker games.

Officials said members of the Bonanno, Gambino and Genovese crime families rigged the poker contests in their favor, cheating players out of millions of dollars and resorting to violence when victims wouldn’t pay up.

Tisch said Billups’ presence at the games was meant to lull victims into thinking it was a legitimate game, making them think “they were sitting at a fair table.” Officials said he was aware and in on the scam.

Losses total more than $7 million, with one victim losing nearly $2 million, Tisch said.

Hennen also figured prominently in the second case. According to the indictment, he provided the “cheating technology” for the illegal poker scheme in exchange for a portion of the proceeds.

“Bringing four of the five families together in a single indictment is extraordinarily rare,” Tisch said. “It reflects how deep and how far this investigation reached and the skill and the persistence it took to get here.”

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