A former NBA All-Star and head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Chauncey Billups, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges related to a mob-run poker scheme that federal prosecutors say used him as celebrity bait to lure unsuspecting wealthy victims into rigged games.

Mr. Billups, 49, was arraigned on wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges in the Eastern District Court. He is accused of participating in a sprawling scam that used sophisticated cheating technology embedded in card readers and poker tables to fix high-stakes poker games held in Las Vegas, Miami, the Hamptons, and New York City. 

Mr. Billups was among 31 defendants named in a massive federal investigation into two illegal sports gambling operations that also ensnared members of La Cosa Nostra and other NBA personalities like Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA assistant coach and player Damon Jones.

Mr. Billups’s attorney, Marc Mukasey, entered a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf. The defendant was released on a  $5 million bond, secured by his Colorado home, and faces upwards of 20 years in prison if convicted.

Mr. Billups acted as the so-called celebrity “face card” used to lure in rich players to participate in rigged games that used hidden card-reading devices like x-ray technology built into the poker table and a card-shuffling machine to gain an advantage over the victims. Mr. Billups is accused of receiving payments, including one for $50,000, funded by the proceeds of the years-long scheme, which netted the games’ organizers $7 million.

Members of the Gambino, Bonanno, and Genovese families allegedly received a cut of the profits and were used to intimidate or assault gamblers who failed to pay up.

Mr. Billups, who has been the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers since 2021, was placed on unpaid leave following his October arrest. He won an NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004 and was named NBA Finals MVP. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.

In a separate indictment, Mr. Rozier was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. He is accused of informing a childhood friend in advance that he would be exiting a game with an injury. That friend, De’Niro Laster, then sold the information to two gamblers, who placed more than $250,000 in prop bets —wagers on individual players’ statistics rather than the outcome of a game — on Mr. Rozier’s “unders.” 

Mr. Rozier is set to be arraigned in court on December 8th. He was also placed on unpaid leave by the Miami Heat shortly after his arrest.