What developments are anticipated in the controversy involving Chauncey Billups?
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS WAS positioned at the main table of the ceremonial courtroom within the United States Courthouse in Brooklyn.
Clad in a gray suit, Billups entered his not-guilty plea on November 24 regarding federal charges related to a manipulated poker game that has captured the interest of the NBA and the broader sports community. He faces charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, both of which could result in a maximum prison term of 20 years.
Before the 30 other defendants, Billups, largely expressionless, remained at the forefront for over three hours as Judge Ramon E. Reyes deliberated various procedural and logistical matters, positioning Billups as the prominent figure in a trial that includes violent offenders with extensive criminal records, mobsters, and individuals from the criminal underworld. Prosecutors allege he served as a “face card” in the rigged poker games, whose celebrity status attracted victims to the table.
Billups’ wife, Piper, and their three daughters were seated two rows behind him. He scanned the courtroom before glancing at the group of reporters to his left who had come to observe and record the proceedings. He lingered briefly on the faces he recognized from his career as a basketball player and head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, a legacy now under scrutiny.
Billups’ only remarks that day were his plea regarding the charges against him. His attorney, Marc Mukasey, did not provide any comments while entering or exiting the courthouse.
It will take considerable time before the full extent of Billups’ alleged involvement in this scandal is understood. This process could span several years.
In the courtroom, the judge imposed a protective order on the evidence in the case shared with attorneys—prosecutors claim this includes a terabyte of bank records, surveillance images, and other electronic data—and expressed hope that a trial could commence in September.
All 31 defendants in the case are mandated to appear in that ceremonial courtroom in Brooklyn on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET for a status hearing, now that they have had several months to review the evidence presented by the government.
Mukasey, who represented President Donald Trump during a 2019 lawsuit aimed at preventing Manhattan’s district attorney from acquiring his tax returns, did not respond to messages from ESPN seeking comments prior to Wednesday’s hearing.
Ron Naclerio was among those who attended the court session in November to support a man he met nearly three decades ago. The renowned coach of Benjamin Cardozo High in Queens first encountered Billups when he was a standout point guard emerging from Colorado and trained him for the 1997 NBA draft.
“He saw me, we embraced, and I said, ‘I know you’re facing a tough time, but just keep pushing forward,'” Naclerio told ESPN. “Then his lawyer approached me and expressed gratitude for my presence.”
As Billups and his family departed the courtroom, a multitude of cameras and individuals followed him as he proceeded to post his $5 million bail.
“It was overwhelming,” Naclerio remarked. “It’s evident that a person who used to be approached for interviews regarding winning an NBA championship or Hall of Fame announcements is now being inundated for something like this. I just thought, ‘Wow, the attention now is such a stark contrast to the highs he has experienced.’
ONE PERSON BILLUPS did not engage with or acknowledge during that November hearing was his friend, former NBA player and coach Damon Jones, who was indicted in the federal investigations into rigged poker games and illegal gambling and has pleaded not guilty at both of his arraignments.
Five years prior, they had shared a residence in Billups’ house in Colorado, enduring the isolating early months of the COVID-19 pandemic alongside Billups’ best friend, Tyronn Lue, then the lead assistant for the LA Clippers, and Lue’s cousin, J. Carter. Billups employed a chef who had been furloughed from a high-end restaurant, requesting him to prepare meals for his friends to alleviate some of the burden on his wife, while the three spent their days reviewing film of the paused NBA season, he told ESPN in 2021.
“All that time spent discussing and analyzing,” Billups stated then, after he officially joined Lue’s staff as an assistant in Los Angeles. “That’s actually what truly influenced my decision to coach.”
Billups had been involved in broadcasting since his retirement as a player in 2014, initially with ESPN and later with the Clippers. He and Lue have been close friends since their teenage years. Lue has not been implicated in any wrongdoing in the federal investigations and has denied any involvement in his public statements regarding the matter. Jones had competed against both during his NBA career and was part of Lue’s staff in Cleveland.
During the November hearing, prosecutors indicated they are investigating 25 poker games that occurred between 2019 and 2023. In the indictment, Billups and Jones are referenced in allegations concerning two games—one in April 2019 and another in October 2020 in Las Vegas—a year before Billups invited Jones to reside with him in the spring of 2020 and a few months prior to the second game.
Prosecutors assert that both Billups and Jones were recruited for the games by Robert Stroud, a 67-year-old man from Kentucky with connections to the Gambino crime family. The indictment alleges that Stroud enlisted well-known athletes or celebrities “to entice affluent victims into participating” in the rigged games, subsequently “compensating them with a share of the illicit proceeds.”
Stroud, who has also pleaded not guilty, possesses a lengthy criminal history involving violence and gambling, including a manslaughter conviction from a shooting during a card game in Louisville in 1994.
The methods by which Stroud recruited them and the degree of each man’s alleged participation remain sealed. However, evidence from Stroud’s iCloud account included in the initial indictment revealed a $50,000 wire transfer to a 40-year-old woman from Queens named Sophie Wei, who then transferred money directly to Billups.
Wei, referred to as “Pookie” by investigators in their indictment, is a Taiwanese-Brazilian artist connected to the music, entertainment, and basketball industries. On her now-private Instagram account, Wei has shared photos with musicians Drake, Mary J. Blige, and Ne-Yo.
She has also displayed commissions she completed for Kevin Hart and for Shaquille O’Neal’s sons, Shaqir and Shareef. Additionally, she showcased her work at the 2024 NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis.
Prosecutors allege Wei was one of the organizers of the rigged poker games in New York and Las Vegas. Her court-appointed attorney, Jacqueline Cistaro, declined to comment when approached by ESPN.
SITTING BEHIND BILLUPS in the courtroom was 53-year-old Eric “Spook” Earnest. His court-appointed attorney was seated directly behind Billups’ table.
In their indictment, prosecutors characterize Earnest and Billups as longtime acquaintances and included text messages from the October 2020 game in which Wei and Stroud discuss the necessity for Billups and Earnest to deliberately lose a hand to avoid raising suspicions of cheating.
Wei proposed bringing another member of the cheating team to the table and having “Chauncey and/ spook lose to him.” Stroud concurred with the suggestion, to which Wei replied in a text, “They already know all the signals.”
The “they” in Wei’s text message refers to Billups and Earnest, implying investigators believe Billups was not merely the famous athlete at the table brought in to attract wealthy players but also a member of the cheating team who was aware of the signals used to cheat and participated in defrauding victims out of millions.
It remains unclear how or when Billups and Earnest became friends. Public records indicate that Earnest has spent most of his life in the greater St. Louis area. Court records reveal that in October 2007, Earnest pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana as part of a federal investigation into a St. Louis syndicate linked to the Black Mafia Family—a Detroit-based drug trafficking and money laundering organization led by the Flenory brothers, Demetrious “Big Meech” and Terry “Southwest”—which has inspired three documentaries and the Starz television drama, BMF, produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
Billups, who played seven seasons with the Detroit Pistons (2002-2009), winning a championship in 2004, has a connection to Terry Flenory. On April 14, 2021, Flenory—who was released from prison in May 2020 after serving 12 years of a 30-year sentence—posted a photo of himself and Billups in front of the Detroit River with the Ambassador Bridge in the background and a caption:
“Woke up this morning to a surprise my man BIG SHOT Billups tapping in before both of us head to work.”
Billups, then in his first year as an assistant coach with the Clippers, who defeated the Pistons 100-98 later that night, responded:
“Always love bro. Great times ahead. Happy for u.”
On October 30, The Athletic reported a former federal DEA task force officer stated that Earnest boasted on wiretaps about his connections to NBA players and other prominent athletes, identifying social media links between Earnest’s family and Billups’ family, noting that Billups follows Earnest’s wife and daughter.
Earnest’s attorney Peter E. Brill also did not respond to messages left by ESPN.
Earnest allegedly played a significant role in this scandal—and his association with Billups continued until at least 2023. Prior to a March 24, 2023, game between the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers, Billups, then the head coach of the team, allegedly conveyed nonpublic information to a man who subsequently placed a $100,000 wager.
That individual was Eric Earnest.
BILLUPS WAS ONE of two defendants granted release on bail after securing his $5 million bond. The other was Anthony Schnayderman, whom prosecutors allege was the primary money launderer in the scheme.
Although this was the highest amount posted by any of the 31 defendants, legal experts consulted by ESPN indicated that the sum may be attributed to the lenient conditions placed on his release, as well as Billups’ financial resources and prominence.
Billups utilized a property he owns in Colorado as collateral for the bond, which was signed in court by his wife and daughter Sydney.
Billups has been residing in one of his two Colorado homes for the past several months, according to sources with direct knowledge of his location. The 15,000-square-foot estate in Greenwood Village he acquired in 2007 was used as collateral for his $5 million bond. He sold his Lake Oswego, Oregon, residence for $4.275 million shortly after his arrest and subsequent indefinite unpaid leave from his head coaching position with the Trail Blazers.
He spends his days quietly, as per sources close to him, with family and friends in the Denver area, playing golf, watching games, and communicating with a select group of NBA colleagues. The conditions of his release prohibit him from traveling outside the United States, as well as to any state or city other than Colorado, California, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington D.C., or New York City.
The last public sighting of Billups occurred as he exited the courthouse that afternoon in late November. He moved swiftly through the throng of camera crews along Duane Avenue in Brooklyn. A black sprinter van awaited Billups, his family, and a team of attorneys approximately 400 feet away.
Billups maintained his composure throughout, exhibiting the poise for which he was known as a player.
No one addressed questions or slowed their pace until they reached the van. Billups did not enter immediately upon reaching the doors. He paused, turned to face the crowd, and waited until his wife and daughters were inside.
