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After Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were arrested last week for their own alleged involvement in illegal gambling, there was speculation that Gilbert Arenas was cooperating with authorities to implicate the NBA numbers.
The former NBA star, who found himself in trouble during his playing days, was accused earlier this year of running an illegal gambling operation from a home he owned in Southern California.
Shortly after his arrest in July, Arenas, who pleaded not guilty, admitted he wanted to “talk.” But in a live stream on Friday, he reiterated that he would only do so in his own case.
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NBA player Gilbert Arenas arrives at the District of Columbia Court on January 15, 2010 in Washington, DC (Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
Arenas thus denied any involvement in the latest case.
“I don’t know what this is going to do with my case,” Arenas said. “I don’t think you just go around telling them cases you don’t know. My case is different. I don’t know what my case has to do with n—-, it’s gambling and giving information about NBA games. How does that have to do with me?”
“Common sense is common sense. This is a whole different breed of — this s–t has its own name. Mine had no operation name,” Arenas added, referring to Rozier and Jones being arrested in “Operation Nothing But Bet” and Billups and Jones being arrested in “Operation Royal Flush.”
ONE federal indictment obtained by Pakinomist Digital showed that Arenas was charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, one count of operating an illegal gambling business and another count of making false statements to federal investigators.
Arenas, nicknamed “Agent Zero,” is suspected of renting a property in Encino, Calif., for the purpose of hosting high-stakes poker games, according to the Justice Department.
Close-up of Washington Wizards Gilbert Arenas (0) on the court during a game against the Phoenix Suns in Washington, DC (Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
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The federal indictment was filed Los Angeles. According to the document, Arenas is accused of instructing Arthur Kats to stage illegal games. Kats allegedly handled rental payments for other individuals who were also believed to have had a role in the operation. Officials said they received text messages believed to show conversations between Arenas and Kats about details of the games in question.
One of the defendants, Ievgen Krachun, was identified as the person who oversaw the gambling as it was allegedly committed inside the home, according to the indictment. Another defendant, Yevgeni Gershman, was described by the DOJ as a “suspected organized crime figure from Israel.”
During his career, Arenas was charged with bringing weapons into the team’s locker room during a dispute with former teammate Javaris Crittenton. Crittenton served 10 years in prison for his role in a 2011 shooting.
Billups, Rozier and Jones, the latter of whom is a defendant in both cases, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The NBA announced that Billups and Rozier were placed on immediate leave from their teams, “and we will continue to cooperate with the appropriate authorities.”
Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were arrested Thursday. (Jaime Valdez/Imagn Images, Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
“The integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the NBA said.
