Federal Indictment Reveals More Details About Rigged Poker Operation Involving NBA Players

The unsealed federal indictment that saw 31 arrests in connection with a rigged high-stakes poker game involving NBA players revealed more details about how the operation worked and the roles of those involved. Those involved include current NBA coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA player and coach Damon Jones.

Games dated to “at least 2019.” They followed a pattern of organizing a game, playing it using advanced technology to cheat, then laundering and splitting the funds. If anyone refused to pay, the organized crime connections stepped in and intimidated them into forking over their debts.

According to the indictment — U.S. vs. Aiello et. al — members of the Bonanno, Genovese, and Gambino crime families provided protection for the games in exchange for a portion of the funds. Anthony “Doc” Shnayderman and associates then laundered the funds.

“For years, these individuals allegedly hosted illegal poker games where they
used sophisticated technology and enlisted current and former NBA players to cheat people out of millions of dollars,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “This complex scheme was so far reaching that it included members from four of the organized crime families, and when people refused to pay because they were cheated, these defendants did what organized crime has always done: they used threats, intimidation, and violence.”

Indictment Explains Perpetrators’ Alleged Roles

The indictment detailed how the games originated from non-rigged, but still illegal, private underground New York poker games. The mafia already controlled these games, according to the FBI’s press release, which enabled them to more easily set up the cheated poker games.

Private poker games were taking place at several locations, with the indictment naming games at Washington Place and on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, as well as a game in East Hampton.

Tony Goodson, Shane Hennen, Curtis Meeks, and Robert Stroud allegedly provided the cheating technology. Perpetrators used a variety of methods, including rigged shuffling machines, hidden cameras, and pre-marked cards.

Hennen has prior accusations as a poker cheat.

After the games, the organized crime families took over. Private poker games frequently facilitate lines of credit to well-known and/or well-off players. If the players then decided they didn’t want to pay — perhaps on suspicion of having been cheated — the mafia agents would enforce the debts and ensure payment.

One victim, identified as John Doe No. 5, was beaten during a collection attempt, according to the FBI.

Billups Alleged to Have Played in Las Vegas Game

“In or around April 2019,” the indictment said, Billups participated in one such rigged game in Las Vegas. In the game, which involved a rigged shuffler provided by Stroud, victims lost more than $50,000.

The FBI named Eric Earnest, Jamie Gilet, Sophia Wei, and Stroud as Billups’ co-conspirators in that game.

The FBI’s account of the game matched the description and timeline that poker pro Matt Berkey provided on his show.

“Only the pros were losing,” said Berkey, who didn’t play in the game but heard about it from first-hand sources.

FBI’s Full List of Alleged Perpetrators and Roles

According to the FBI, proceeds from the rigged games amounted to $7,150,000.

Here’s a look at the full list of participants, with their alleged roles detailed in the 22-page indictment:

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (license)