In a sensational gambling scandal within the North American professional basketball league, the NBA, involving betting fraud and illegal poker games, an accused party has confessed for the first time.
Former NBA player and later assistant coach Damon Jones pleaded guilty on Tuesday before a federal court in Brooklyn in two hearings to using insider knowledge to the detriment of sports betting providers and leveraging personal contacts for the setup of manipulated poker events.
The verdict against the 49-year-old, who initially denied all charges, is expected in January of next year. «As his guilty pleas demonstrate, Damon Jones transformed his fame and connections to professional basketball into a multifaceted criminal betting operation,» stated US Attorney Joseph Nocella after the hearing concluded.
The maximum sentence for betting fraud is 27 months in prison, and Jones faces up to six and a half years in prison for the mafia-style poker schemes. However, due to his confessions, Jones can hope for a lighter sentence.
Jones is one of six defendants to date. Among the accused is also Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat. A total of around 30 individuals are involved in the affair.
Jones Worked with LeBron James as a Private Trainer
«I want to sincerely apologize to the court, my family, my colleagues, and also to the NBA,» Jones said, according to US media, during the first hearing.
One of Jones’s eleven NBA stops during his professional career was with the Cleveland Cavaliers between 2005 and 2008. During this time, Jones played alongside superstar LeBron James. Jones later used his contact with the US idol to deceive bookmakers with information, for instance, about injuries.
Later, Jones became an assistant coach and worked for the Cavaliers again during James’s second stint in Ohio from 2016 to 2018. In the 2022/23 season, Jones served as LeBron James’s personal trainer after the star moved to the Lakers. However, Jones worked on a private basis for the top star and without official employment with the Californians.