NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors unsealed two indictments Thursday outlining an illegal betting scheme that has rocked the NBA and named current and former players, including former Clippers player and current Portland head coach Chauncey Billups, in one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States.
Prosecutors are accusing the Miami Heat’s Terry Rozier and Damon Jones, a retired NBA player and friend of LeBron James, of using private insider NBA information, such as when players would sit out, to help others profit in leveraged bets online.
In a separate indictment from the East District of New York, Billups, who played with the Clippers for two seasons and later was a member of Clippers coach Ty Lue’s staff before earning the Trail Blazers head coaching job, is charged with rigging underground poker games that three of New York’s Mafia families backed, authorities said.