Former NBA player and assistant Damon Jones will become the first person to plead guilty in a wide-ranging illegal betting scandal involving more than 30 detainees, including alleged members of organized crime.
According to court documents, Jones will appear on May 6 in federal court in Brooklyn, having previously been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
Insider information on NBA stars
Authorities accuse Jones of selling confidential information to gamblers about injuries to figures such as LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
In one of the cases, the former player alerted an accomplice to bet heavily against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023, ensuring that James would not play. The team ended up losing that game.
He also reportedly charged for information on Davis in 2024, leading to a $100,000 bet that ultimately failed.
Rigged poker and mafia ties
Jones is also involved in a ring of rigged poker games, where former NBA players were used as decoys to attract victims.
According to the indictment, devices such as hidden cameras, special glasses and tables with X-ray technology were used to cheat.
These operations were allegedly connected to mafia families such as the Gambinos, Genovese and Bonanno, who received part of the profits and engaged in violent activities to secure the business.
A case that shakes the NBA environment
Jones, a former teammate of LeBron James in Cleveland and champion as an assistant in 2016, was arrested in October along with other basketball figures, in one of the biggest recent scandals linked to illegal betting in sports.
The case is still developing and could involve more relevant names inside and outside the NBA.
