Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups denies wrongdoing after being arrested by the FBI in a criminal gambling investigation.
“Anyone who knows Chauncey Billups knows that he is a man of integrity; men of integrity do not cheat or defraud others,” the coach’s attorney, Chris Heywood, said in a statement, according to Fox Sports.
Billups’ lawyer added that the coach “has never and would never bet on basketball games, has not provided privileged information nor has he sacrificed the trust of his team and the League, since that would tarnish the game to which he has dedicated his entire life.”
Billups, 49, was arrested at his home in Oregon on Thursday and was among 30 other people charged in the FBI’s “Operation Royal Flush” case, which was launched during the Biden administration to track down a gambling syndicate linked to organized crime.
Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was also arrested in a separate but related illegal gambling case.
According to the New York Posta source told them that “Billups, a member of the NBA Hall of Fame, has been accused of participating in an alleged illegal poker ring linked to the Bonanno, Genovese and Colombo crime families.”
The FBI claims Billups was fully aware that the gambling team was defrauding victims of their money “using a rigged shuffling machine.”
The Trail Blazers issued a statement following the ruling.
“We are aware of the allegations involving head coach Chauncey Billups and the Trail Blazers are cooperating fully with the investigation,” the team said. “Billups has been placed on immediate leave and Tiago Splitter will assume head coaching duties in the meantime. Any further questions should be directed to the NBA.”
The coach was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering and will be arraigned in New York on November 24.
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