FBI agents swarmed the Miami Heat’s hotel in Orlando, Florida, and arrested a Heat player in six separate arrests for illegal sports gambling on Thursday, according to reports.
Miami Heat star Terry Rozier (top) and Portland Trail Blazers head coach (and former NBA star) Chauncey Billups were arrested by the FBI in separate raids early Thursday.
Terry Rozier, 30, was taken into custody at a hotel where the Heat stayed before their 121-125 loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday evening. Terry did not play in the game.
Chauncey Billups, 49, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last year, was arrested in Oregon and will appear in federal court later today.
Chauncey’s arrest is linked to an illegal poker operation run by the mafia, according to ABC News.
Prosecutors for the Eastern District of New York and FBI director Kash Patel will hold a joint press conference at 10 a.m. Eastern time to announce further arrests from the raids.
Terry is among a list of current pro athletes accused of betting on sports and influencing the outcome of NBA and NFL games in exchange for a cut of gambling profits.
Terry’s arrest comes after sportsbooks in multiple states flagged suspicious betting activity on his statistics ahead of the Charlotte Hornets vs. New Orleans Pelicans game on March 23, 2023.
Suspicious betting activity was flagged on Terry’s points, rebounds and assists.
One professional bettor made 30 wagers in 46 minutes totaling $13,759 on Terry’s statistics ahead of the game.
Terry left the March 2023 Hornets game in less than 10 minutes due to a “sore right foot.”
He had just 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and one foul – numbers that appeared suspicious to several sportsbooks that stopped taking prop bets on Terry.
In order to win the bet, an NBA player has to come out of the game early due to an “injury.”
Fake injuries among pro athletes have soared since sports gambling was legalized in many U.S. states.
Terry was in the final season of a 4-year, $96.3 million contract with the Hornets.
The March 2023 game with the Hornets was his last with the organization. The Hornets traded him to the Miami Heat in January 2024.
At the time, the NBA said it didn’t find any gambling violations committed by Terry Rozier.
“In March 2023, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity related to Terry Rozier’s performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said earlier this year.
“The league conducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation.”
