Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that he was involved with an allegedly rigged poker scheme. He will remain free on a $5 million bond, a law enforcement source confirmed to Front Office Sports.
The Trail Blazers head coach—who was placed on leave by the NBA after the scandal broke roughly one month ago—was arraigned in New York Monday morning on two counts: wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Both charges carry up to 20 years in federal prison. Billups’s plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf by attorney Marc Mukasey. Mukasey did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
The judge said Monday that a trial could begin by September of next year.
Billups’s plea came as part of a larger status conference for the rigged poker games case. Jones, who played 12 seasons in the NBA and later became an assistant coach, was also in attendance, but there is no update on him to share, the law enforcement source tells FOS. Jones previously pleaded not guilty and was released on a $200,000 bond.
The next status conference is set for March 4.
Monday’s arraignment was the latest update in the shocking scandal that rocked the NBA right as its 2025–26 season was set to begin. On Oct. 23, there were 34 total defendants arrested—including Billups, Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA player and coach Damon Jones—as part of a sprawling federal investigation that resulted in two indictments.
Billups and Jones were named in one indictment, which centers on an alleged illegal poker ring that lured unsuspecting victims to play games with famous individuals, and was run by the families that make up the La Cosa Nostra mafia in New York.
Jones and Rozier were named in a separate indictment alleging inside information about players was sold to bettors so they could win prop bets, such as whether a player will score more or fewer than a certain number of points. Although Billups was not named in the betting indictment, the details of one alleged instance of inside information that was provided to bettors strongly suggests he is one of the unnamed co-conspirators who tipped them off that the Blazers were tanking.
Alongside Billups, Rozier, who was also placed on leave by the NBA, is also not being paid. The National Basketball Players Association said last month it will fight for Rozier to continue receiving his pay. The NBA Coaches Association, which represents NBA coaches, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wachtell Lipton, the law firm the NBA hired to investigate the sports betting allegations, has begun its probe by reaching out to teams to request documents, information, and other property, such as cellphones. Separately, a bipartisan group of House members requested a briefing on “sports fixing and illegal gambling.” A meeting was held this month with House staffers amid the federal government shutdown, but neither NBA commissioner Adam Silver nor deputy commissioner Mark Tatum attended. Separately, a Senate committee has also requested a briefing from the NBA.
