Damon Jones arrives at court for NBA gambling arraignment as probe into alleged Mafia ring continues

Former NBA player Damon Jones pleaded not guilty to charges in separate federal cases in Brooklyn on Wednesday after being arrested in last month’s FBI crackdown on alleged Mafia-linked illegal gambling schemes.

Jones remains free on $200,000 bond.  

Appearing alongside attorney Kenneth Montgomery, the 49-year-old Jones calmly walked by reporters gathered outside the Eastern District of New York courthouse for his two separate hearings.

Weeks earlier, Jones, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering as part of the alleged schemes. Billups and Rozier have both denied the charges. 

In total, more than 30 individuals have been arrested in the FBI investigation into two alleged schemes, both of which, prosecutors say, involved Jones.

On Wednesday, the ex-guard and assistant coach was first arraigned by Judge Ramon Reyes for the U.S. v. Aiello et al indictment, which focuses an alleged $7million scheme to rig illegal poker games. From there, he walked across the hall to be arraigned by Judge Taryn Merkl on the U.S. v. Earnest et al. indictment involving an alleged scheme to improperly share inside injury information with gamblers.

According to the indictments, James came to know the other defendants in the sports gambling case through the rigged poker games, which allegedly relied on X-ray tables and other high-tech devices.

Billups and Jones were allegedly used as ‘face cards’ in the scheme to attract unsuspecting gamblers, and profits from the games were shared with the Bonanno and Gambino crime families, according to that indictment. 

In U.S. v. Earnest et al, Jones is accused of leaking injury information about his friend and former teammate LeBron James to gamblers in 2023. 

James is not named in the indictment and is instead referred to as ‘Player 3.’ He has not been charged or accused of any wrongdoing in the FBI probe. Daily Mail has reached out to his agency, Klutch Sports, to offer the chance at commenting.

Billups will be arraigned on November 24 while Rozier’s arraignment is scheduled for December 8.

Jones has battled financial issues dating back to 2013, when he first filed for bankruptcy. That case was dismissed, but he was back again two years later, according to court records reviewed by Daily Mail.

The Texas native claimed to have up to $1 million in liabilities at the time with assets somewhere between 100,001 and $500,000.

Jones has also been accused of stiffing several lenders, once allegedly failing to provide the promised collateral of a 2016 NBA Championship ring – a keepsake he won as an assistant coach with the Cavaliers.

Rohit Rajan, another attorney representing Jones, did not respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment on Jones’ financial history last week.