Ex-Lakers assistant Damon Jones pleads guilty in federal gambling probe - BERITAJA

Former Lakers adjunct coach Damon Jones became the first among 34 defendants to plead blameworthy Tuesday successful an expansive gambling indictment that besides ensnared Hall of Fame subordinate Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat prima Terry Rozier and organized crime figures.

Jones was a Lakers coach successful 2022 and 2023, agelong aft he retired from an 11-year NBA playing profession pinch 11 teams. Before a Feb. 9, 2023, crippled betwixt the Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks successful which LeBron James was a precocious scratch because of a ft injury, grounds showed that Jones urged a co-conspirator to “get a large stake connected Milwaukee earlier the accusation is out!”

Jones urged his co-conspirator successful a text: “Bet capable truthful Djones could eat to [sic] now!!!”

Jones and James were considered bully friends for years. A personification adjacent to James told The Times successful October that the Lakers prima didn’t cognize that Jones was trading wounded accusation to gamblers placing bets.

Jones had entered not blameworthy pleas successful November to the 2 counts of conspiracy to perpetrate ligament fraud for his domiciled successful sports betting and rigged poker crippled schemes. However, during back-to-back hearings successful Brooklyn national tribunal Tuesday, he entered blameworthy pleas to those charges.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 6 earlier abstracted judges successful the 2 cases. Guidelines telephone for 21 to 27 months successful situation for the sports gambling complaint and 63 to 78 months for the complaint connected rigged poker games. Prosecutors said they agreed to shave 15 months from the condemnation successful speech for Jones pleading blameworthy by April 30.

He pleaded blameworthy successful the sports betting lawsuit first. In a prepared statement, he acknowledged that he conspired pinch others to defraud sports betting companies by utilizing “insider accusation that I obtained arsenic a consequence of my relationships arsenic a erstwhile player.”

Jones, 49, said the extremity of the sports betting conspiracy was to usage his insider knowledge of injuries to players to make money gambling.

“I would for illustration to sincerely apologize to the court, my family, my peers and besides the National Basketball Association,” said Jones, who was paid $21 cardinal arsenic a player.

Next came pleading blameworthy to participating successful rigged poker games. Jones admitted that he was paid to usage his NBA personage to lure deep-pocketed gamblers to poker games successful Miami and New York.

Again reference from a statement, Jones said that, based connected conversations pinch his co-conspirators astatine poker games, “I knew these games were rigged and that players were being cheated.”

And again he concluded pinch an apology, addressing the court, his family and friends.

“I’m really sorry to everyone progressive for my actions,” he said.

Prosecutors said Monday they would activity further charges against Rozier successful the sports betting lawsuit because they had developed grounds that the 10-year NBA seasoned solicited a bribe during an alleged gambling scheme.

According to the original indictment, erstwhile Rozier played for the Charlotte Hornets successful 2023, he told friends he was readying to time off a crippled early pinch a “supposed injury,” allowing others to spot wagers. Rozier has made $135 cardinal arsenic a player.

Billups, who played pinch the Clippers for 2 seasons and later was a personnel of Clippers coach Ty Lue’s unit earlier being named caput coach of the Portland Trail Blazers successful 2021, is charged pinch rigging underground poker games that authorities said were backed by 3 of New York’s Mafia families. Billups, who was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame successful 2024, made $107 cardinal arsenic a player.