NBA Coach, Player Arrested in Mafia-Linked Sports Rigging Probe;FBI Calls It ‘Operation Royal Flush’

In one of the biggest sports corruption scandals in U.S. history, the FBI announced the arrests of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, along with 29 others, in a nationwide mafia-linked gambling and game-fixing probe. FBI Director Kash Patel described the criminal network as a “nationwide enterprise” tied to three La Cosa Nostra crime families, operating across nine U.S. states. The investigation — code-named “Operation Royal Flush” — uncovered tens of millions of dollars in illegal bets on NBA games, some allegedly influenced by players and insiders. According to U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr., the indictment details cases involving games played by the Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Toronto Raptors. Officials said the accused profited from rigging player performances and manipulating betting odds through offshore accounts. Homeland Security and NYPD agents conducted coordinated raids before dawn, arresting suspects who “for years operated with a false sense of impunity,” said HSI Special Agent Rick Patel. Authorities are now probing whether organized crime groups used NBA players and staff to launder money through the league’s betting systems — a scandal that could have far-reaching implications for professional sports integrity.