US EditionX-ray tables, hidden cameras: The tech in rigged poker games linked to the mob and the NBA
Chauncey Billups and others involved in a Mafia-backed scheme used high-tech cheating devices to defraud poker players of over $7 million in underground games.
- Federal prosecutors unsealed charges Thursday against more than 30 defendants, including Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones, accusing them of rigging poker matches that cheated victims out of at least $7 million.
- Beginning as early as 2019, prosecutors say the scheme targeted high-stakes games in Manhattan, Las Vegas, the Hamptons, and Miami, using 'face cards' to lure 'fish' into rigged poker matches.
- Authorities say the cheating relied on modified shuffling machines, an X-ray table, hidden cameras in chip trays, special contact lenses, and wireless transmission to an off-site operator and the "quarterback".
- The NBA placed Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups on leave Thursday while law enforcement executed arrests nationwide, and prosecutors noted `The charges in the indictments are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty`.
- Prosecutors say mob families oversaw and profited from the scheme, alleging Bonanno, Gambino, Lucchese and Genovese families used robbery, extortion, assault and laundered money via shell companies and cryptocurrency.
91 Articles
91 Articles
Ex-Gambino enforcer says Chauncey Billups could have been blackmailed by the mob in NBA poker scandal: ‘Do this or else’
The 49-year-old Portland Trailblazers coach could have asked the mob for help, and then found himself in over his head, ex-mob enforcer John Alite suggested.
Poker Indictment Puts Spotlight on $10,000 Card Shufflers
The rigged-poker-game indictment unveiled on Thursday reads like a Hollywood heist film, featuring NBA stars and famous Mafia crime families. It also involves the high-tech hacking of casino-quality card shuffling machines.
How iCloud backups helped expose a mob and NBA poker cheating scandal
Digital evidence stored in iCloud played a key role in exposing a multistate poker-rigging scheme tied to organized crime and NBA players. Here's how, and what evidence was uncovered.iCloud data helps crack NBA and mob poker schemeFederal investigators used photos and data stored in iCloud accounts to uncover a multistate poker-rigging scheme involving NBA players and organized crime. Prosecutors said the group relied on modified shuffling machi…
The FBI dismantled an organized crime ring that "showcased" famous athletes - Over 30 arrests, involvement of Cosa Nostra family members - Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups is involved, former NBAer Damon Jones is also accused
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