Chauncey Billups stood in a Brooklyn federal courtroom on Monday and pleaded not guilty, a month after his arrest in a sweeping underground poker scheme that stunned the NBA.
The now-suspended Trail Blazers coach was arraigned on charges tied to wire fraud and money laundering, appearing alongside more than thirty defendants in the Eastern District of New York.
Federal prosecutors say the operation stretched across several of New York’s crime families.
The alleged setup involved recruiting wealthy targets to high-end poker games that were pitched as legitimate. Celebrities, including Billups, were used to make the events look clean and exclusive.
Investigators say the games were anything but. Legal documents describe a long list of tricks used to rig outcomes. X ray tables. Marked cards. Hidden cameras. Fixed deck shufflers. Even special contact lenses.
Millions were allegedly siphoned from players who thought they were walking into a fair game.
Billups and Heat guard Terry Rozier were placed on administrative leave once the charges surfaced.
Billups, 47, was in his fifth season as Portland’s head coach and was still early in what the organization hoped would be the next step toward the playoffs.
The judge set an initial timeline as well. The intent is to begin Billups’s trial in September 2026, meaning this saga will shadow the NBA for a long time.
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