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Chauncey Billups has hired renowned attorney Marc Mukasey, who has defended President Donald Trump in the past, to represent him in the federal investigation into alleged illegal gambling. The Athletic was the first to report the news and Mukasey confirmed it in an email to Pak Gazette Digital.
Mukasey represented Trump and his organization in several cases, including when the New York attorney general sued Trump, alleging that his charity was being used for personal and political purposes, and when Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. subpoenaed Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, to produce tax returns and financial records as part of a state grand jury investigation.
Mukasey also represented FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried during sentencing on fraud and conspiracy charges, as well as Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, who was acquitted of murder.
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Marc Mukasey, attorney for Trevor Milton, founder of Nikola Corp., leaves court in New York on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. (Stephen Yang/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Clippers head coach is currently facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering for knowingly competing in and profiting from rigged poker games.
Billups was allegedly dubbed one of the “figure cards,” who the indictment alleged were “members of the entrapment crews and received a portion of the criminal proceeds in exchange for their participation in the scheme.” The scheme resulted in victims losing at least $7.15 million, as of April 2019, according to the Department of Justice.
Billups was “used to attract victims to games due to [his] status as former professional athletes,” the DOJ said.
Billups was one of five defendants who “arranged and participated in rigged poker games” in Las Vegas “using a rigged shuffling machine,” and the victims lost at least $50,000. One of the defendants sent a text message to another accomplice telling him that Billups should intentionally lose a hand to avoid suspicions of cheating.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups watches from the sideline during the first half against the San Antonio Spurs at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on April 6, 2025. (Soobum Im/Image Images)
WHO ARE CHAUNCEY BILLUPS, TERRY ROZIER AND DAMON JONES? NBA SUBJECTS ARRESTED IN ILLEGAL GAMBLING INVESTIGATION
During that game, a defendant said one of the victims had “acted like he wanted Chauncey to have his money” because Billups “star-struck” him, according to officials.
In October 2020, Billups allegedly received a $50,000 transfer following a rigged poker game.
Billups is not named in the sports betting scandal that led to Terry Rozier’s arrest. However, the Justice Department mentioned a Trail Blazers-Chicago Bulls matchup on March 24, 2023, the day after Terry Rozier’s alleged wrongdoing, in which a co-conspirator, “an NBA coach at the time,” allegedly told an old friend, who is also a defendant in the rigged poker scheme, that the Blazers would “go down” that night for a better draft pick and sit some top players. of the team. The rest of the players had not yet been public information. The team’s four leading scorers, including Damian Lillard, did not play that night, as other conspirators allegedly bet more than $100,000 in total against Portland. The Trail Blazers lost by 28 points.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups walks to a vehicle after his federal court appearance on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Portland, Oregon. (Jenny Kane/AP)
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The “co-conspirator” in question is listed as a former NBA player whose career spanned from “approximately 1997 to 2014” and “an NBA coach since at least 2021.” Only Billups fits that criteria.
Billups, through a statement from his attorney, denied any wrongdoing. He, along with Terry Rozier, were immediately placed on leave from the Clippers, “and we will continue to cooperate with relevant authorities.”
“The integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the NBA said.
