Overview
- Billups, 49, entered the plea through attorney Marc Mukasey, remains free on bail, and is on unpaid leave from Portland with Tiago Splitter serving as interim coach.
- He is charged with conspiracies to commit money laundering and wire fraud, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years.
- Prosecutors allege he served as a celebrity draw for rigged high-stakes poker games in New York, Las Vegas, Miami and the Hamptons, citing a $50,000 transfer to him after an October 2020 game.
- The alleged operation shared proceeds with the Gambino, Genovese and Bonanno crime families and used violence, including assault, extortion and robbery, to collect debts.
- Investigators describe altered shufflers, hidden cameras, special glasses or contacts and X-ray–capable tables, as prosecutors prepare to turn over roughly a terabyte of digital evidence in a 31-defendant case the judge kept intact for now.