Three former Boston Celtics were arrested this week in connection with an FBI Investigation into NBA Players and illegal gambling.
Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups, and Damon Jones were all charged separately.
Rozier, who played 272 games for the Celtics from 2015-19, is charged for allegedly faking an injury to ensure that a co-conspirator could place and win a bet on his game unders back in 2023.
Three former Celtics were arrested in FBI investigation
Billups, who entered the season as the coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and began his playing career in Boston, was indicted for his alleged participation in illegal poker games. The games were “said to have involved numerous members of the Bonano, Gambino, Luchese, and Genovese crime families in New York,” according to The Athletic.
Jones, who played 13 games for the Celtics in the 1998-1999 season, was charged in connection to both cases.
Later in his career, Jones played alongside LeBron James for three years with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The two developed a relationship, and James hired Jones as his personal shooting coach.
“Jones, the indictment said, was a teammate or coach “of a prominent NBA player,” who it called Player 3,” Joe Vardon and Mike Vorkunov wrote. “It said that Jones used his relationship with that player and the team to gain information that he then sold to professional gamblers. Jones, according to prosecutors, found out on the morning of Feb. 9, 2023, that Player 3 would not play in the Lakers’ game against the Bucks that night and told an unnamed co-conspirator to place a “big bet” on the Bucks because he was out. Player 3 had not been named on the team’s injury report yet but would miss the game. James did not play in that game.”
The Athletic reports that James had no knowledge that Jones had shared any information about his playing status.
Jones and Billups allegedly helped the mob scam poker players in Miami, Las Vegas, the Hamptons, and New York City.
“Both men were known as ‘Face Cards,’ used by the cheating teams to help lure victims into the games,” Vardon and Vorkunov reported. “Wireless cheating technology was used to fleece the victims out of tens of thousands of dollars, including altered off-the-shelf shuffling machines.”
Both Rozier and Billups were arrested following their respective games on Wednesday night. The NBA placed both men on leave shortly after they were charged on Thursday.
“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today,” the NBA said in a statement. “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.”
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Trail Blazers assistant coach Thiago Splitter will move into the head coaching role during Billups' leave.
Portland Trail Blazers assistant Tiago Splitter will assume head coaching position in the interim in place of Chauncey Billups, sources tell ESPN. Nate Bjorkgren was strongly considered by Portland but decided it was best for the franchise for him to maintain his current role. pic.twitter.com/bUIzHK9XED
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 23, 2025
None of the alleged illegal activity happened during any of the men’s time with the Celtics, nor were the Celtics named in the investigation.