E-Paper
NBA gambling, rigged poker scandals: Full list of people arrested - Damon Jones to Eric Earnest
If convicted in the wire fraud and conspiracy indictment, each defendant faces a max sentence of 40 years -- 20 for wire fraud and 20 for money laundering.
The FBI carried out investigations into schemes involving illegal sports betting and rigged poker games, leading to the arrest of 34, authorities said on Thursday. Among them are Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Damon Jones.
FBI Director Kash Patel and others in law enforcement said the multiple charges involve four of the five leading mafia families and organized crime networks. Here's a full list of people arrested.
People named in NBA gambling probe indictment
- Eric Earnest
- Marves Fairley
- Shane Hennen
- Damon Jones
- Deniro Laster
- Terry Rozier
People named in FBI's poker scheme indictment
- Ernest Aiello
- Nelson Alvarez
- Louis Apicella
- Ammar Awawdeh
- Saul Becher
- Chauncey Billups
- Matthew Daddino
- Eric Earnest
- Lee Fama
- John Gallo
- Marco Garzon
- Thomas Gelardo
- Jamie Gilet
- Tony Goodson
- Kenny Han
- Shane Hennen
- Osman Hoti
- Horatio Hu
- Zhen Hu
- Damon Jones
- Joseph Lanni
- John Mazzola
- Curtis Meeks
- Nicholas Minucci
- Michael Renzulli
- Anthony Ruggiero Jr.
- Anthony Shnayderman
- Robert Stroud
- Seth Trustman
- Sophia Wei
- Julius Ziliani
The list of names was reported on by People magazine. The government prosecution of the case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin Weintraub, David Berman and Kaitlin Farrell.
Also Read | NBA gambling scandal: Famed ref Scott Foster facing arrest? FBI makes big statement on probe
If convicted in the wire fraud and conspiracy indictment, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 40 years -- 20 years for wire fraud conspiracy and 20 years for money laundering conspiracy.
NBA statement amid FBI probe
The NBA released a statement after the arrests in the FBI case.
“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today. Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority,” they said.
While the case has shaken up the NBA at the start of the season, teams are grappling with the sudden arrests as well. Tiago Splitter was named interim coach of the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday after the arrest of Chauncey Billups.
(With agency inputs)
