Former NBA player Damon Jones arrives at US District Court, November 6, 2025, Andres Kudacki/Getty Images.
NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Epicstorian News) — Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones was arraigned Thursday in the Eastern District of New York on charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money-laundering conspiracy, the court filing shows.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed a sweeping indictment on Oct. 23, 2025 that named Jones among six defendants accused of using non-public basketball information to profit from illicit wagers.
The indictment alleges that between December 2022 and March 2024, Jones and co-conspirators obtained confidential data on player injuries and line-ups and fed that to bettors who placed fraudulent wagers.
Separately a second indictment charged 31 defendants in a rigged, high-stakes poker scheme linked to organised crime families; Jones is listed as one of the “face cards” recruited to lure wealthy gamblers.
Details of the Betting Scheme Involving Damon Jones
According to the court documents, Jones—also referred to as “D Jones” and “Dee Jones”—is accused of selling inside information about days before official team injury reports were released.
The records cite two specific incidents: one on Feb. 9, 2023 and another on Jan. 15, 2024 in which Jones allegedly provided pre-release medical information about star players on the Los Angeles Lakers that enabled associates to place early wagers.
The indictment asserts that those wagers were placed ahead of public line-moves and that the conspirators misrepresented to betting companies that the bets were lawful while concealing their use of confidential information.
Allegations of Rigged Poker Games and Mafia Connections
The second indictment describes how Jones and others allegedly served as “face cards” to draw in high-stakes players to poker games rigged with sophisticated technology such as modified shuffling machines, x-ray tables and marked contact lenses.
Federal agents say the games were backed by the Bonanno, Gambino and Genovese crime families. Victims reportedly lost more than US$7 million before the operation was uncovered.
Jones, age 49, of Houston, Texas, is formally charged under docket number 25-CR-323 (LDH) in the Eastern District of New York.
NBA Reaction and Integrity Implications
The national basketball league said it is cooperating with federal authorities and reaffirmed its commitment to protecting game integrity in the wake of the indictments.
Legal experts say the case represents one of the most serious enforcement actions seen in the legal sports-betting era, given the mix of insider manipulation and organised-crime rigging.
Jones is presumed innocent until proven guilty and may face up to 20 years for each of the principal counts, according to the press release.
At his initial appearance on Nov. 6, 2025 the judge set conditions for release, including a prohibition on gambling and a travel restriction, federal documents show.
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The prosecution is being led by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office with assistance from the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies.
Defence attorneys have entered a plea of not guilty on Jones’ behalf and a trial date has not yet been scheduled. No settlement has been announced.
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