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Posted on: November 24, 2025, 02:10h.
Last updated on: November 24, 2025, 02:10h.
- Billups facing a maximum of 40 years in prison
- Portland Trail Blazers coach and Hall of Fame player accused of being “face card” in elaborate poker scheme
- Billups pleads not guilty in New York federal court this morning
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty in a New York City federal court this morning to charges of money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy involving his alleged involvement in a rigged poker game scheme.
Billups, who also is a member of the basketball of Hall of Fame after a 17-year career in the NBA, is accused of profiting directly in a scheme involving members of the Mafia. The former player is the biggest name among more than 30 co-defendants after FBI announced arrests across 11 U.S. states last month. The poker games in question, going back to 2019, included the use of shuffling card technology to fix the games and cheat players out of millions of dollars.
Billups was allegedly the “face card”, the celebrity used to lure wealthy people into the Texas Hold’em poker games. According to the high-octane indictments a portion of proceeds went to pay members of several New York mob families, who were in part called on to enforce gambling debts through extortion and assault.
October Indictments
Both charges carry a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.
Billups’ attorney, Chris Heywood, said his client was a “man of integrity”.
“To believe that Chauncey Billups did what the federal government is accusing him of is to believe that he would risk his Hall of Fame legacy, his reputation and his freedom. He would not jeopardize those things for anything, let alone a card game,” said Heywood previously.
Prosecutors first announced the indictments on Oct. 23. The other co-defendants in the poker scheme were also expected in New York court as the judge, prosecutors and the defence attorney work out next steps.
$106.8 Million in Career Earnings
Former NBA players and coach Damon Jones was also charged and has pled not guilty. Billups retired as a player in 2014. He was hired as Portland’s coach in 2022, and earlier this year signed a multi-year extension with the organization.
According to Spotrac Billups made USD $106.8 million over his playing career. Billups is on unpaid leave from the Trail Blazers.
