FBI and NYC police officials released information about the arrests made connecting the NBA and New York organized crime in rigging basketball and poker games
FBI sports betting and poker arrests: These are the methods and schemes used to deceive victims
Today arrests were made related to an ongoing investigation that has been conducted over the last three years. Those arrested are accused of allegedly rigging NBA games as well as fixing poker games. The justice officials at the press conference specifically named Cosa Nostra and several of the New York organized crime families.
How did they rig the poker games?
New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella and FBI Director Kash Patel explained how victims (also called ‘fish’) were invited to join high-stake poker games and play next to former professional athletes, amongst Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones.
Those involved in deceiving the unknowing victims at the poker games used several methods and technologies such as rigged shuffling machines that dealt cards to cheat those who knew nothing about the fraud. Another method involved an offsite operator relaying information to those at the table who were part of the scam to give them privileged information about the cards the victims had. The information was relayed via cell phone to those involved in the criminal activity.
Other methods included using poker chip trays that could detect marked cards as well glasses with x-ray vision technology to read face-down cards. The odds were fixed and victims had no idea they were being duped, thus losing millions of dollars over the course of the investigation.
Money from the winnings was then laundered in shell companies and invested in cryptocurrencies and extortion techniques were used to force players to pay their gambling debts.
The sports betting scam
Those involved in the NBA gambling crime were accused of allegedly fixing sports bets by informing bettors of players that wouldn’t play in a game due to injury or illness as well as tips on which players would be over or under their number of rebounds, assists, points for a specific game.
The NBA players allegedly involved in the rigged sports betting games include Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones. The players are accused of threatening players and using their friendships to fix games. The bets were placed on online sites and in casinos. Losses were in the millions for the losers.
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