Name: Chauncey Billups pleads not guilty to charges
Uploaded: 2025-11-24T19:28:03.510Z
Duration: 1 min 42 s
Description: Chauncey Billups, who was serving as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers until his suspension, pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges related to alleged rigged high-stakes poker games.

Chauncey Billups, who was serving as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers until his suspension, pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges related to alleged rigged high-stakes poker games.

Chauncey Billups, head coach of the Portland Trailblazers and NBA Hall of Famer, appeared in Brooklyn federal court for arraignment on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Billups entered a not guilty plea to allegations that he participated in mafia-backed, rigged poker games, where he allegedly served as a prominent figure to attract players.

Authorities claim the proceeds from these illegal poker games benefited organized crime, and that Billups knowingly participated in doctored games using technology to fix outcomes. Billups is currently on unpaid leave from the Trailblazers, and the case involves numerous defendants, with additional hearings expected.

Chauncey Billups pleads not guilty to charges

Portland Trailblazers head coach and NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups was in a Brooklyn federal court this morning to face arraignment. He's pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Authorities allege he participated in mafia-backed rigged poker games. Billups is on unpaid leave from the Trailblazers. I want to bring in CBS News Justice Correspondent Scott McFarlane who's following this arraignment for us from Washington. Scott, can you walk us through what happened in court this morning and also remind us what Billups and others allegedly connected in this gambling scheme are accused of? Well, Chauncey Billups is certainly the most famous name and the most famous face in what is really a high-level, high-octane criminal case. Dozens of people are implicated. Dozens of people are charged. So, you had an arraignment this morning in which Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty as expected. But they're just trying to get their bearings on this enormous case with so many different stakeholders, so many different matters and so many different hearings forthcoming. You'll recall there's two parallel cases here, one of which is the NBA case, one of which is the poker case. It's actually Chauncey Billups, the basketball Hall of Famer, who's in the poker case. Chauncey Billups is accused of being what they call the face card, the famous face to draw players to an illegal poker game, the proceeds of which allegedly went to the mafia. Chauncey Billups has pleaded not guilty, he's denying the accusations. But they say he was part, a component, a knowing component of this doctored poker game in which there was all kinds of technology employed to fix the games and get the money from deep-pocketed gamblers into the pockets of the mob.

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