FBI charges 31 people in sports figures in betting probe including Rozier, Billups

Good morning everybody. My name is Joseph Noella. I am the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York. I’d like to welcome you here today. Um, in addition, uh, we have with us today FBI Director Cash Patel. FBI Assistant Director in charger Christopher Reya of the New York Field Office, Special agent in charge of the New York Field Office Leslie Bacches. New York Special agent in charge of Homeland Security Ricky Patel. Newark Special agent in charge of Homeland Security Michael McCarty. Police commissioner Jessica Tish. Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. And the executive director of the Waterfront commission, Phoebe Sorell. I’m now going to turn the podium over to FBI Director Cash Patel. Good morning. Today we’re here in New York to announce *** historic arrest across *** wide sweeping criminal enterprise that envelopes both the NBA and La Casa Nostra. The men and women up here standing with me represent *** small portion of the leadership team that brought profound justice in an era that needed it more than any. I’ll just highlight some of the, some of the details in the case and the FBI work, and then you’ll hear from the others. But as you now know, individuals such as Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones, and Terry Rozi were taken into custody today, former current NBA players and coaches. What you don’t know is that this is an illegal gambling operation and sports rigging operation that spanned the course of years. The FBI led *** coordinated takedown across 11 states to arrest over 30 individuals today responsible for this case, which is very much ongoing. Not only did we crack into the fraud that these perpetrators. Committed on the grand stage of the NBA, but we also entered and executed *** system of justice against La Casa Nostra to include the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchesi crime families, and you’ll hear more about those details today. The charges and the arrests that were taken down across this country ranged from wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery, illegal gambling. This FBI will leave no room for any perpetrator of crime across this country. You hear *** lot about our work of defending the homeland and crushing violent crime. Well, this work is also representative of *** colossal portion of the FBI’s mandate to keep America safe and to keep our entertainment industry fair and secure. The men and women that are standing up here today worked tireless hours, days, months, and years, and the fraud. It is mind boggling. It’s not hundreds of dollars. It’s not thousands of dollars. It’s not tens of thousands of dollars. It’s not even millions of dollars. We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery across *** multi-year investigation. And we could not have done it without our interagency partners that are before us today. The NYPD, HSI, and teams of law enforcement officials from around the country made this day possible. It takes *** team to bring this kind of justice, sweeping justice into the halls of the United States courtrooms where our brave United States attorney has led this prosecution. It takes courageous prosecutors to stand before you and say we will not allow this kind of illicit activity to happen. Not only at the national sporting level but also where it hides in La Casa Nostra and when these two collided together they perpetrated *** fraud that is historic in terms of not just money but the scheme and the deceit that they utilize to steal and swindle people from money to include crypto fraud. This is an operation that showcases to you that under President Trump’s administration, there is no room for any type of criminal behavior, be it on the world’s largest stage or in the back rooms of tiny parlors where guard games are being plugged. We are proud to stand here today with the men and women of the FBI and this legal team and uh to the United States attorney, I just want to thank you personally for taking the time to display the work um that the media is about to hear about today in detail as I said it does take courageous prosecutors, but it takes *** courageous United States attorney to bring this case because we’re gonna take heat for it, but we don’t shy away in this administration. We don’t say no. What we do is we bring the results across. The finish line, we bring them to the public. We bring you accountability, and yes, they will have their day in court and you will hear the evidence through the court system exclusively. We will not deny anyone of due process and that’s the brilliance of this system. That’s the brilliance of this administration. Everyone will be held to account. So with that, I turned over to United States Attorney Noel.

Updated: 10:47 AM EDT Oct 23, 2025

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FBI charges 31 people in sports figures in betting probe including Rozier, Billups

Updated: 10:47 AM EDT Oct 23, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ