FBI Director Kash Patel Drops Explosive Findings In Chauncey Billups & Terry Rozier Case: Over 30 Arrests In Massive Scheme Involving 4 Mafia Crime Families [VIDEO]

FBI Director Kash Patel speakingFBI Director Kash Patel (Photo via FOX News)

The NBA woke up to some unwanted attention on Thursday morning, just two days after opening night, with one head coach, one former player, and one current player all getting arrested by the FBI as part of a sports gambling sting.

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were both taken into custody, while former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Damon Jones has also been apprehended.

FBI director Kash Patel held a press conference on Thursday to address the development and reveal that over 30 people had been arrested in a “historic” sting.

The investigation, branded “Operation Royal Flush,” began four years ago and encompassed 11 states.

According to Patel, it has exposed widespread corruption, including links between NBA players, coaches, and the Italian Mafia.

“This is an illegal gambling operation and sports rigging operation that spanned the course of years,” Patel said, confirming “Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones, and Terry Rozier were taken into custody today.”

Kash Patel Cites Fraud, Theft, And Robbery

FBI Director Kash Patel Speaks On Mysterious Plane Linked To Charlie Kirk Conspiracy TheoriesKash Patel (Photo By Jack Gruber-USA TODAY via Imagn Images)

The Bureau targeted a network alleged to perpetrate wire fraud, money laundering, and extortion.

“We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery across a multi-year investigation,” Patel added.

The investigation is understood to have uncovered a scheme involving rigged poker games with direct ties to organized crime. Four of the five New York Families—Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese—allegedly helped organize games and enforce debt payment.

Altered card-shuffling machines able to read decks and X-ray tables that could see face-down cards were said to be part of an elaborate setup that swindled wealthy individuals out of their money.

Per U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, the scheme utilized “face cards,” including Billups, to lure wealthy victims to the tables.

“What the victims didn’t know [was] that everybody else at the poker game… were in on the scam,” Nocella claimed.

The U.S. Attorney also outlined an insider sports betting conspiracy, citing the use of inside knowledge regarding NBA games and outcomes.

“This included knowing when players would sit out games or exit early with “purported injuries,” he said.

It’s said to have relied on “corrupt individuals, including Jones and Rozier.” In one instance, information was obtained by “threatening a current player,” identified as Jontay Porter, who received a lifetime ban from the league earlier this year.

This is still a developing story.