Former NBA player Damon Jones, who is embroiled in an alleged illegal gambling scheme involving other NBA personnel, is reportedly expected to plead guilty after being charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy in November.
According to NBC News, after initially pleading not guilty to the charges, Jones plans to change his plea when he appears before the judge on April 28. The paperwork was filed in the Eastern District of New York April 16.
23726/site264.tmus/amp2" data-multi-size="320x50,300x250" data-multi-size-validation="false" rtc-config='{"vendors": {"prebidappnexuspsp": {"PLACEMENT_ID": "27198239"}}, "timeoutMillis": 500}'>Jones was working with the Los Angeles Lakers when he was accused of selling information about a player’s injury to bettors.
The former Cleveland Cavaliers player was arrested, along with Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups (currently on unpaid leave) and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, for their alleged roles in an illegal gambling scheme. The three men were all arrested Oct. 23 after being accused of partaking in illegal sports betting and rigged poker games.
Authorities say Billups and Jones were paid to participate in the games, with Jones requesting a partial prepayment of $2,500 before attending one of the poker games.
Jones, who played with LeBron James in Cleveland and remained close to the Lakers player, allegedly used that relationship to his advantage by allegedly informing bettors of LeBron’s injury ahead of a game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 9, 2023, according to the indictment. That information was not publicly available.
The former player was also accused of allegedly selling information about another Lakers player just hours before that player was listed as “probable” in the NBA’s injury report. This info was attributed to a game the Lakers played against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 15, 2024.
Anthony Davis was the only player listed as probable on the injury report. The information provided to the bettors led his co-conspirators to place a $100,000 bet on the game before the injury report was made public.
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