First prison sentence dealt in NBA illegal betting scandal

The archetypal situation condemnation has been dealt related to the wide-ranging NBA betting ungraded that rocked the athletics successful the fall. 

Timothy McCormack was sentenced by a New York national justice Wednesday to 2 years successful prison, per ESPN.

"I've struggled with a gambling addiction for much than fractional my life," McCormack said astatine his sentencing.

McCormack was charged with defrauding sports betting platforms by utilizing nonpublic accusation to spot highly profitable wagers tied to the show of NBA players allegedly successful connected the scheme.

"He has an addiction," Federal Judge DeArcy Hall said. "I don't judge the behaviour Mr. McCormack engaged successful defines him."

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Assistant Director successful Charge of the NY Field Office of the FBI Christopher Raia speaks arsenic FBI Director Kash Patel listens during a property league connected Oct. 23, 2025 successful New York City.  (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

McCormack took portion successful the strategy that allegedly progressive erstwhile NBA players Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones.

Documents released by the FBI allege the conspirators utilized a card-shuffling instrumentality that utilized concealed exertion to work the cards successful the platform and foretell which subordinate astatine the array had the champion hand, and relayed that accusation via interstate wires to an off-site operator. 

According to the documents, that relation allegedly communicated that accusation backmost to a pb conspirator astatine the poker table, who utilized signals to relay the accusation with different conspirators astatine the table. 

The FBI documents besides allege that the cheating players utilized different technology, including physics spot trays that could secretly work cards placed connected the table, paper analyzers that could besides observe which cards were connected the table, and invisible markings placed connected the cards that could lone beryllium seen with the assistance of specially-designed interaction lenses oregon glasses.

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Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones were arrested for their alleged involvements successful amerciable gambling. (Jaime Valdez/Imagn Images, Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. called it "one of the astir brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became wide legalized successful the United States," and elaborate the benignant of exertion that was utilized astatine a property league successful October.

"They utilized off-the-shelf shuffling machines that had been secretly altered successful bid to work the cards successful the deck, foretell which subordinate astatine the array had the champion poker hand, and relay that accusation to an off-site operator," Nocella said.  

"Defendants utilized different cheating technologies specified arsenic poker spot tray analyzers—which is simply a poker spot tray that secretly work cards utilizing a hidden camera—special interaction lenses oregon eyeglasses that could work pre-marked cards, and an X-ray array that could work cards look down connected the table."

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FBI manager Kash Patel speaks astatine a property league announcing the arrests of Portland Trail Blazers caput manager Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat defender Terry Rozier successful transportation with a national probe into sports betting and amerciable gambling, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, successful New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Billups and Jones were allegedly utilized arsenic personage figures to gully successful competitors for the allegedly rigged poker games.

The DOJ said that successful April 2019, Billups was 1 of 5 defendants who "organized and participated successful rigged poker games" successful Las Vegas "using a rigged shuffling machine" with the victims losing astatine slightest $50,000. One of the defendants texted different co-conspirator that Billups should purposefully suffer a manus to debar cheating suspicions.

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