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Terry Rozier has asked a federal judge to throw out two of the four charges brought against him over the last year by the U.S. Department of Justice. In a new filing Friday, lawyers for Rozier said that the NBA veteran never agreed to manipulate his performance for the sake of sports gamblers and that Rozier did not know that anyone was betting on his stats during a March 23, 2023, game while he was with the Charlotte Hornets, as federal prosecutors have alleged.
Mike Vorkunov: Chauncey Billups' lawyers filed a letter to the federal judge overseeing his case to keep Nov. 2 as the trial date, and saying DOJ's argument isn't persuasive. "This case has caused him to lose his livelihood and become subject to an intense degree of public obloquy."
Mike Vorkunov: Federal prosecutors in the rigged poker game case, where Chauncey Billups is a defendant, have asked to move the trial from Nov. 2, 2026 to early 2027. After 12 people agreed to plead guilty, DOJ lawyers say that they're in "serious plea negotiations" with at least 7 others.
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Former Kentucky basketball player Kerr Kriisa has been arrested and indicted on a $2.2 million fraud scheme, the Department of Justice announced on Monday. Kriisa -- a 6-foot-3 guard from Estonia who played at Kentucky, Arizona, West Virginia and Cincinnati over six seasons -- "allegedly carried out a scheme to obtain nearly $2.2 million from multiple victims using false representations, fabricated identities, and deceptive communications," per the DOJ's news release on his arrest.
According to the Department of Justice, Kriisa allegedly ran a four-year scheme that involved convincing one victim to send him money by saying his mother had cancer and needed treatment. By posing as his mother in another scheme, he allegedly told one victim he needed money to "save" the family's farm. He also allegedly acted as a woman named "Irene" to sign a fraudulent promise to repay one of the victims $100,000 by a February deadline, per the DOJ's indictment.
A federal judge has asked the NBA to weigh in on whether Terry Rozier should have a chance to play in the league next season. Rozier is not allowed to be in contact with the Charlotte Hornets while he awaits a trial for charges that he took a bribe to manipulate his performance during a 2023 game while he was with the team — one of four federal counts stemming from an investigation into alleged illegal sports gambling. A lawyer for Rozier has asked the Department of Justice and the judge to lift that provision of his release on bond, saying it effectively prevents the veteran guard from playing in the league. The judge, LaShann DeArcy Hall, said she wants to hear from the NBA before she decides what to do. The Hornets have taken no position on the request, a lawyer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District said.
Pablo Torre Finds Out: Steve Ballmer quietly admitted to a secret side deal with Aspiration's co-founder — a guarantee on his $50M investment similar to the "I.O.U" for Kawhi Leonard. "He is a victim," says the DOJ prosecutor who launched the case. "But he had a very different deal."
Mike Vorkunov: More on this: — While DOJ named sportsbooks as victims in original indictment, today they said Rozier and others conspired to defraud NBA and the Hornets “through bribery and kickbacks.” — Charges came hours after another defendant told judge he paid NBA player to limit his play
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Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones plans to plead guilty to sports gambling charges first brought by the Department of Justice last fall. Jones was accused of selling insider information to sports gamblers, including LeBron James’ game status, while he worked with the Los Angeles Lakers. Prosecutors for the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York charged Jones with two federal counts last October. He initially pleaded not guilty, but a lawyer for Jones confirmed that he intends to change his plea. Jones is the first of six defendants charged in the case to signal he will plead guilty. Former Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier is also facing charges from that same case and indictment.
An El Paso man pleaded guilty in federal court to seven counts of wire fraud as part of a Ponzi scheme on Friday, according to the Justice Department. Court documents said he falsely represented to use funds to promote NBA preseason games. 63-year-old Timothy France Johnson solicited investments from February 2009 to May 2020, according to court documents. Johnson falsely represented he would use the funds to obtain venues and fund marketing, the Justice Department reports.
Chauncey Billups was back in court Wednesday, along with multiple other defendants, for a status hearing in the federal case against an alleged poker-rigging scheme -- or Operation Royal Flush, as the Department of Justice announced in October. Billups, who was alleged to be a "face card" in the scheme, a well-known person used to attract players to rigged games, pleaded not guilty in November. On Wednesday, as he returned to court for an update on the case, his former backcourt-mate with the Detroit Pistons, Richard Hamilton, voiced his full support for Billups. "Chauncey's in a good place. We always have his back. Spoke to him multiple times," Hamilton told BetFTW and USA TODAY Sports. "So we're here to support him, but this ain't Chauncey. I know Chaunc. This ain't him. So, hopefully everything works out and everybody in the world realizes that Chauncey's one of the better people in this world."
Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier will return to court this week in Brooklyn as they and more than 30 other people indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice appear in front of federal judges for updates on their cases. Billups, a Basketball Hall of Famer, and Rozier, a Miami Heat guard, have seen their cases move slowly toward trials as their lawyers and federal prosecutors trade legal filings and discovery.