Ex-NBA player Damon Jones 1st to plead guilty in gambling case

NEW YORK — Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones grew to become the primary particular person to plead guilty Tuesday in a gambling sweep that led to the arrests of greater than 30 individuals, together with reputed mobsters and different basketball figures.

Jones, 49, entered a guilty plea to a single depend of conspiracy to commit wire fraud throughout the first of back-to-back plea-change hearings in Brooklyn federal court docket. Sentencing pointers name for a punishment of 21-27 months in jail, and Jones additionally agreed to forfeit $35,000. His sentencing is ready for Jan. 6, 2027, earlier than Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall.

Reading a ready assertion to the court docket, he acknowledged that he conspired with others to defraud sports activities betting firms by utilizing “insider information that I obtained as a result of my relationships as a former player.”

“I would like to sincerely apologize to the court, my family, my peers and also the National Basketball Association,” Jones stated.

He stated the objective of the conspiracy, which ran from December 2022 to March 2024, was to use his insider data — which prosecutors say concerned nonpublic details about accidents to NBA stars — to make cash from sports activities books.

He has acknowledged that his actions violated the NBA’s code of conduct and likewise the phrases of service on sports activities betting web sites.

Jones was charged in separate circumstances with making the most of rigged poker video games and offering sports activities bettors with nonpublic details about accidents to stars LeBron James and Anthony Davisin accordance to court docket filings.

None of the opposite defendants have proven a willingness to plead guilty. On Monday, prosecutors stated they have been looking for further expenses towards a co-defendant in the betting case, former Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier.

Jones’ lawyer, Kenneth Montgomery, declined to remark earlier than Tuesday’s hearings.

Jones was arrested final October together with Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, and others, together with a sports activities bettor accused of cashing in on damage info.

Jones was considered one of three individuals charged in each the poker and sports activities betting schemes.

Originally from Galveston, Texas, Jones earned greater than $20 million enjoying for 10 groups in 11 seasons from 1999 to 2009. He and James performed collectively in Cleveland from 2005 to 2008, and Jones served as an unofficial assistant coach for James’ Los Angeles Lakers throughout the 2022-2023 season.

Prosecutors say Jones bought or tried to promote nonpublic info to bettors that James and Davis have been injured and both would not be enjoying or would play much less time in sure video games.

In the poker scheme, prosecutors say Jones was amongst former NBA gamers used to lure unwitting gamblers to poker video games that have been rigged utilizing altered shuffling machines, hidden cameras, particular sun shades and even X-ray gear constructed into the desk.

According to the indictment, Jones was paid $2,500 for a recreation in the Hamptons the place he was instructed to cheat by paying shut consideration to others concerned in the scheme. When in doubt, Jones was informed to fold his hand, prosecutors stated.

In response, in accordance to prosecutors, Jones texted: “Y’all know I know what I’m doing!!”