Curtis Meeks: Suspect in Poker Cheating Scandal Was a Former Boxer and Appeared on High-Stakes Cash Game Streams

Curtis Meeks, one of the alleged perpetrators in a high-stakes poker cheating ring, has appeared in multiple high-stakes cash game livestreams in recent years.

He also has a lengthy rap sheet that includes charges for vehicular manslaughter and aggravated assault.

Meeks now faces money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy charges as part of the sweeping federal indictment that implicated former NBA players Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones. According to the indictment, Meeks supplied high-tech cheating technology used by the conspirators to rob poker players out of more than $7 million.

Meeks Accused in Separate Crooked Poker Game

The indictment doesn’t make clear whether Meeks is accused of participating directly in the allegedly rigged games, or only of helping to organize them. However, a report from the New York Post featured strongly worded quotes about Meeks from an anonymous player who claimed to have been cheated by Meeks in a high-stakes game. According to the player, he and his friends lost around $1 million to Meeks and his associates in a private game.

“Meeks is the most despicable human I’ve ever been around in my entire life,” the person told NYP. “The level he will go to get other people’s money is just disgusting. I’ve since found out that what he’s done to us, he’s done to many other people. This was not a freak occurrence.”

It’s also not clear whether the particular game that player is referencing was part of the same poker cheating ring described in the federal indictments. However, the mechanics of the alleged scam sounded very similar to those outlined in the federal indictment.

The player said Meeks and his associates used an unnamed former NFL player to lure them to a high-stakes game with a $20,000 buy-in. Meeks and his friends cleaned them out amid what felt like suspicious play, always seeming to know which player’s hand would be a winner. The alleged victim says the game was played on credit and they were extorted into paying up despite their suspicions of unfair play.

“They wouldn’t let up in trying to get their money,” he said. “It got scarier and scarier. Serious threats were made. Ultimately, we just agreed to pay them.”

Meeks’ Poker Stream Appearances

Playing for high stakes appears to be nothing new to Meeks. PokerScout unearthed multiple videos showcasing Meeks’ play on popular livestreams.

According to tracking site Highroll Poker, Meeks’ first appearance came on Bally Poker Live in 2023.

The show marketed him as a pro boxer. Meeks does have an official listing on BoxRec that shows a 10-1-2 record from a career spanning 2001-2015.

On BPL, he played $100-$100 with a $100 ante and lost $46,800. He appeared on several more episodes, playing as big as $100-$200-$400, losing about $118,000 in the games.

Meeks did manage to make the highlight reel for BPT despite finishing in the red, as he bluffed high-stakes pro Johan ‘YoH ViraL’ Guilbert off of aces.

In March 2024, Meeks popped up on another high-stakes stream, this time Poker at the Lodge featuring Doug Polk. Meeks lost $100,000 according to the stream’s tracking. He got stacked in an odd hand, betting with Jc-8h in a multi-way pot on a 10s-2c-7c flop. Two players raised behind him, he called for about a third of his chips, then he called the rest off after one of the players jammed with T-7. Meeks seemed confused about his holding, asking for a 6 and seeming happy when one fell on the turn.

“I’m trippin’,” he said after the other players pointed out he needed a 9.

After incurring a small loss in a $25-$50 ($50 big-blind ante) game on Champions Poker Live later that summer, Meeks returned in 2025 on Venetian Poker Live. He featured in a highlighted hand in the $100-$200-$400 game, but he would ultimately bust out about 40 minutes from the end of the stream. He lost approximately $50,000.

By Highroll Poker’s tracking, Meeks lost a total of $273,900 across his streamed poker appearances.

Meeks’ Run-Ins With the Law

Meeks’ name also popped up several times over the years in crime reporting. All of the reports come from his native state of Texas.

In 2008, the Associated Press reported that one Curtis Meeks had been charged with manslaughter in a hit-and-run. The report described him as a “former finalist in the National Golden Gloves Championship,” which is the most prestigious competition in the U.S. for amateur boxers.

After a routine traffic accident in Austin, Meeks said he was worried he was going to be robbed when someone from the other vehicle jumped into his car. While attempting to escape, he hit a 28-year-old man, who died. Meeks fled the scene but later turned himself in to police.

In 2016, Meeks was charged with aggravated assault with a motor vehicle for an incident in Pflugerville, a suburb of Austin. Witnesses said he struck a woman with his Ferrari after she and another person, who entered Meeks’ car as a passenger, were involved in a domestic dispute that had turned violent.

Most recently, court records show a Curtis Lee Meeks Jr. of Williamson County, Texas, receiving a two-year sentence for forgery. That investigation dated to 2019. Meeks pleaded guilty in 2024.