Feds Uncover Sports Gambling Ring with NBA Stars
Feds Uncover Sports Gambling Ring Involving NBA Stars and the Mafia
The FBI just blew the lid off what they’re calling one of the biggest sports-related gambling busts in decades. Director Kash Patel confirmed Thursday that 31 people—including NBA coaches, players, and associates—were arrested after a two-year federal probe into an underground betting operation allegedly backed by the La Cosa Nostra families.
At the center of it all: Operation Zhen Diagram, a joint task force effort involving the FBI’s New York field office, IRS Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Agents say the network was funneling millions of dollars through rigged poker games, fixed NBA betting lines, and crypto laundering setups designed to hide the money trail.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA player/coach Damon Jones were among the high-profile names listed in the 147-page indictment. Prosecutors allege that some of the defendants used insider information and player connections to influence bets and manipulate outcomes on select games.
Court documents reveal that members of the operation held exclusive high-stakes poker nights in Las Vegas, Miami, and New York—where athletes, agents, and entertainment figures would gamble with money routed through crypto wallets and shell companies. Investigators also tracked a series of encrypted messages and offshore transfers that tied several NBA affiliates directly to operation figures operating out of Brooklyn and Newark.
The FBI says the investigation kicked off after irregular betting patterns were flagged during the 2023–2024 NBA season, leading to a deep dive into financial transactions that linked multiple players to known gambling brokers.
Officials are calling this bust a “wake-up call” for professional sports, warning that the line between competition and corruption is getting thinner by the year.
Check out the indictment from the DOJ here
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