Former NBA Player Jones Pleads Guilty To Gambling Charges
Mike Goodpaster Published 30/04/2026
Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones is the first person to enter a guilty plea from an October 2025 arrest for his role in an illegal gambling ring. Jones was charged as part of a gambling sweep that led to the arrests of more than 30 people. Several other prominent basketball people and some reputed mobsters were also charged as part of an illegal betting enterprise.
In a Brooklyn, N.Y. federal court, Jones pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud conspiracy in two separate cases. One count was for his role in a scheme to use inside information derived from multiple National Basketball Association (NBA) teams, players, and coaches to profit from illegal betting. The other count was for participating in a scheme to rig illegal poker games across the country.
Jones pled guilty at two separate hearings
Jones stood up and admitted guilt in two different courtrooms on the separate charges he was facing. He read from a prepared statement in making both pleas.
"I used insider information that I obtained as a result of my relationships as a former player," Jones read from his statement. "I would like to sincerely apologize to the court, my family, my peers and also the National Basketball Association."
The first charge involved Jones, who was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers at the time, tipping off bettors with insider information. Jones provided bettors with nonpublic information about specific injuries to a variety of star NBA players between December 2022 and March 2024. Those bettors then placed fraudulent bets, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit.
Jones served as a face card at underground card tables in Miami and the Hamptons. He utilized his celebrity to lure unsuspecting victims into fixed poker schemes that stole millions. Estimates are that $10 million was lost by victims through both of these schemes.
“As shown by his guilty pleas, Damon Jones converted his fame and ties to professional basketball into a multi-faceted criminal betting operation," United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement. "He used private locker room and medical information from multiple NBA teams to cheat legitimate sportsbooks. He also, separately, lured unsuspecting victims to high-stakes, rigged poker games.”
Ex-NBA player could serve years in prison
Jones will face sentencing on both charges on January 6. Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall will rule in the sports betting case. He will be before Judge Ramon Reyes in the rigged poker games case.
On the first charge, sentencing guidelines call for between 21 and 27 months of prison time. As for the rigged poker games charge, guidelines call for Jones to be facing anywhere from 63 to 78 months in prison. However, prosecutors agreed to reduce the sentence by 15 months in exchange for the guilty plea from Jones.
Former NBA star Rozier may face further charges
Former NBA guard Terry Rozier was in court this week seeking to have the illegal gambling charges he's facing from the same ring dismissed. Instead, he learned that more charges against him could be forthcoming.
Federal prosecutors informed Rozier's legal team that a grand jury has been convened to consider further charges against Rozier. He's already facing conspiracy charges involving wire fraud and money laundering. Rozier pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Rozier is accused of tipping off bettors that he planned to leave a March 2023 game early while playing for the Charlotte Hornets. The gamblers then bet large sums on the under in prop bets on Rozier’s stats for that game.
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