The FBI stuns the NBA with Mafia-linked charges against two stars

Summary

Podcast Summary: Apple News Today

Episode: The FBI stuns the NBA with Mafia-linked charges against two stars
Date: October 24, 2025
Host: Gideon Resnick (in for Shamita Basu)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into one of the most shocking sports stories of the year: the FBI’s arrest of two high-profile NBA figures—Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier—on charges tied to Mafia-linked illegal gambling and match-fixing. The discussion also explores the broader implications for sports, gambling integrity, and how organized crime infiltrated the NBA. The episode further touches on major news, including the government shutdown, the presidential pardon of crypto mogul Changpeng Zhao, and the beginning of the World Series.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. NBA Mafia-Linked Gambling Charges: The Big Picture

• Bombshell Arrests Announced:
  • The FBI unsealed indictments against Chauncey Billups (Trailblazers coach) and Terry Rozier (Miami Heat guard), placing both on leave from the NBA (00:41).
  • The operation ensnared 30+ individuals across 11 states in a years-long investigation (00:56, 00:59).
• Allegations and Techniques:
  • Billups accused of participating in illegal poker games, organized by New York mob families, defrauding at least $7M (01:31).
  • Advanced cheating equipment: x-ray card readers, hidden table cameras, and marked cards—exposed only with special contact lenses or glasses (01:46–01:49).
    • Quote: “There’s an X ray type machine that could read cards when they’re face down...and contact lenses or glasses would help reveal those, which sounds very mission impossible.” — Zach Harper, NBA writer, The Athletic (01:49)
• Billups' Alleged Role:
  • Brought in to lend legitimacy and comfort to others:
    • Quote: “He’s there to put people at ease. Hey, that’s a familiar face. I recognize Chauncey Billups. It must be on the up and up if he is indeed involved.” — Zach Harper (02:20)
• Rozier’s Case – The Alleged Scheme:
  • Accused of giving inside info and manipulating in-game performance for gambling bets (02:35–02:39).
    • Quote: “He would give information allegedly of ‘I’m going to leave this game early tomorrow. You want this certain outcome in a game, I’m going to leave this game early tomorrow.’” — Zach Harper (02:45)
  • Broader integrity concerns: impact on prop bets, game outcomes, and NBA’s reputation.
• Context within NBA:
  • Follows previous guilty plea and lifetime ban for former Raptors player Jontay Porter (03:05).
  • Rozier had previously been cleared by the NBA—no violation of league rules found (03:15).
• Gambling’s Grip on Sports:
  • The incident exposes the “challenging world in which gambling and professional sports are inextricably linked” (03:23–03:25).
  • Quote: “It makes so much money...leagues have to try to minimize the potential downfalls and just hope your integrity and your reputation doesn’t get hit in the process to a point where it affects the bottom line.” — Zach Harper (03:28)
• Legal Response:
  • Lawyers for both Billups and Rozier deny wrongdoing and vow to fight in court (03:51).

---

2. Government Shutdown: Central Claims and Healthcare Debate

• Stalemate Overview:
  • Shutdown has become the second longest in modern history (04:06); lawmakers struggle to find solutions as open enrollment looms (05:07).
• Political Divide:
  • Democrats demand ACA subsidies and Medicaid cuts reversal; Republicans want current spending and delayed negotiation (04:53, 04:59).
• Key Argument—Healthcare for Undocumented Immigrants:
  • Republicans argue Democrats support more medical care for undocumented immigrants, a claim examined in depth.
  • David Ovalle (Washington Post):
    • Clarifies that undocumented immigrants are ineligible for most federal health plans (05:45).
    • Emergency Medicaid exists but is a miniscule portion of spending; most states only cover basic emergency care (05:56, 06:08).
    • Large recent federal law reduces those benefits further (06:10–06:25).
    • States sometimes fill gaps, but budget issues lead to rollbacks (06:39).
    • Quote: “It's a hodgepodge of services...They may go to a community clinic...they will often forego care, and often they will pay out of pocket. So it's a vastly different experience...” — David Ovalle (07:03)

---

3. Crypto Pardon and Trump Connections

• Changpeng Zhao (Binance Founder) Pardoned:
  • Formerly convicted for money laundering, served four months, Binance paid $4.3B in fines (08:02, 08:31).
  • President Trump cited pressure and doubts about guilt; denied knowing Zhao personally (08:44).
    • Quote: “As I was told, I don’t know him...But I've been told...what he did is not even a crime…it wasn’t a crime, he was persecuted...So I gave him a pardon at the request of a lot of very good people.” — President Trump (08:44)
  • Binance linked to World Liberty Financial, a Trump family crypto business, reportedly adding billions to the family’s wealth (09:20).
    • Alison Morrow (CNN Business): “Binance has been helping facilitate trades of World Liberty Financial's token...has added an estimated $5 billion worth of fortune to the Trump family net worth.” (09:26)
  • Implications: Questions of conflicts of interest, possible return for Binance to the US, and political fallout over crypto regulations (10:13).

---

4. Other News Briefs

• San Francisco Security Deployment Stopped:
  • Trump calls off planned federal deployment after tech leader lobbying and local progress cited (10:43–11:05).
• World Series Begins:
  • Dodgers vs. Blue Jays; Blue Jays’ return to the Series after decades (11:19–12:06).
    • Quote: “I do think the Dodgers will take it in six, it's going to be pretty close. It's not going to be a Brewer style beatdown.” — Mike Petriello, MLB stats director (11:47)
• Performing Clarinet During Brain Surgery:
  • Denise Bacon, a woman with Parkinson’s, plays clarinet mid-surgery to demonstrate real-time improvements (12:14–12:53).

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "This is an illegal gambling and sports rigging operation that spanned the course of years...Not only did we crack into the fraud...but we also...executed a system of justice against La Casa Nostradamus." — FBI Director Cash Patel (00:59)
• “He’s there to put people at ease. Hey, that’s a familiar face. I recognize Chauncey Billups. It must be on the up and up if he is indeed involved.” — Zach Harper, The Athletic (02:20)
• “It makes so much money...that I think it’s just something you have to kind of try to minimize as the leagues.” — Zach Harper (03:28)
• “Binance has been helping facilitate trades of World Liberty Financial's token, which all helps kind of elevate the profile of the Trump family business...added an estimated $5 billion worth of fortune to the Trump family net worth.” — Alison Morrow, CNN Business (09:26)

---

Timeline of Important Segments

| Timestamp (MM:SS) | Key Segment | |---------------------|------------------------------------------------------| | 00:41–03:51 | FBI’s NBA gambling bust; Billups & Rozier charges, mob tech, implications (w/ Zach Harper) | | 04:06–07:38 | Government shutdown, health care debate, immigrants’ health coverage (w/ David Ovalle) | | 07:41–10:31 | Changpeng Zhao (Binance) pardon, Trump connections, crypto fallout (w/ Alison Morrow) | | 10:43–12:53 | San Francisco deployment averted, World Series preview, brain surgery clarinet performance | | 13:11+ | Preview of additional Apple News content: NY mayoral race feature (with Eric Latch) |

---

This episode offers a gripping look at the underbelly of professional sports, the entanglements of money and power in politics and crypto, and the resilience of individuals in remarkable circumstances. The reporting brings together sharp expert commentary, memorable storytelling, and insight into complex national news.

Transcript

[Gideon Resnick]

Good morning. It's Friday, October 24th. I'm Gideon Resnick in for Shamita Basu. This is Apple News today. On today's show, the facts behind a central claim that's fueling the government shutdown, a pardon of a major crypto mogul.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Close to Trump's family, and what to know as the World Series begins. But first, to the bombshell arrests of an NBA head coach and a current player. Coming just days into the start of the latest season.

[Gideon Resnick]

A pair of indictments were unsealed yesterday.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Detailing alleged gambling schemes ensnaring both Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier. The NBA placed both of them on leave.

[Gideon Resnick]

Here's FBI director Cash Patel announcing the.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Charges at a press conference in New York.

[FBI Director Cash Patel]

This is an illegal gambling operation and sports rigging operation that spanned the course of years. The FBI led a coordinated takedown across 11 states to arrest over 30 individuals today responsible for this case, which is very much ongoing. Not only did we crack into the fraud that these perpetrators committed on the grand stage of the NBA, but we also entered and executed a system of justice against La Casa Nostradamus.

[Gideon Resnick]

The FBI alleges that Billups participated in.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Illegal poker games set up by infamous New York mob families that defrauded people of at least $7 million.

[Gideon Resnick]

The alleged rigged games feature technology that sounds straight out of a heist movie. Zach Harper is an NBA writer for the Athletic.

[Co-host/Reporter]

He told us about some of the alleged gadgets that were used.

[Zach Harper]

There's an X ray type machine that could read cards when they're face down. There's also places on the poker table that had cameras in them that would relay the images of what the cards are when they're face down. And then there would be markings on face cards or any of the cards, and contact lenses or glasses would help reveal those, which sounds very mission impossible.

[Gideon Resnick]

Officials say that players thought they were.

[Co-host/Reporter]

At fair tables, but instead lost millions at these rigged games. Billups allegedly had a very specific role in the process.

[Zach Harper]

The idea would be that Chauncey would come in there, and I had a former player describe it to me in this way of he's there to put people at ease. Hey, that's a familiar face. I recognize Chauncey Billups. It must be on the up and up if he is indeed involved in this.

[Gideon Resnick]

The second indictment naming Rozier involves a scheme in which he would allegedly manipulate.

[Co-host/Reporter]

His performance in a game, allowing for a co conspirator to place a bet that would award them money he would.

[Zach Harper]

Give information allegedly of I'm going to leave this game early tomorrow. You want this certain outcome in a game, I'm going to leave this game early tomorrow. Whether that's in regards to prop bets around his statistics or just the outcome of the game itself, the seriousness of that is that affects the integrity and the outcome of a basketball game.

[Gideon Resnick]

The Athletic reports that these charges stem.

[Co-host/Reporter]

From an ongoing investigation that produced a previous guilty plea and a lifetime ban for former Raptors player Jontay Porter.

[Gideon Resnick]

Rozier had also already been investigated by.

[Co-host/Reporter]

The NBA for these allegations, but the league found that he hadn't violated any NBA rules.

[Gideon Resnick]

Harper said the cases highlight the challenging.

[Co-host/Reporter]

World in which gambling and professional sports.

[Gideon Resnick]

Are inextricably linked to I don't see it going away.

[Zach Harper]

It makes so much money. It's such a big part of propping up media, professional sports in general, that I think it's just something you have to kind of try to minimize as the leagues. You have to try to minimize the potential downfalls and just hope that your integrity and your reputation doesn't get hit in the process to a point where it affects the bottom line. I do believe it's a balancing act for the NBA and just sports leagues in general.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Lawyers for Rozier and Billups denied wrongdoing and pledged to fight the charges.

[Gideon Resnick]

Now to the government shutdown, which is.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Officially the second longest in modern history.

[Gideon Resnick]

Lawmakers are scrambling to find roundabout ways.

[Co-host/Reporter]

To fund key federal workers and military service officers, but a broader solution hasn't materialized.

[Gideon Resnick]

Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and his Democratic counterpart, Chuck Schumer Kennedy traded.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Familiar lines on the Senate floor.

[Republican Senator]

What's really driving Democrats isn't health care. It's not a desire for negotiations. It's politics and far left activists who demanded a showdown with President Trump. And what is Donald Trump doing? As we stare into the abyss of the health care crisis, he's flying off yet again to another corner of the world. While people's premiums are set to skyrocket.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Here at home, Democrats demands remain the same.

[Gideon Resnick]

They want an extension of Affordable Care.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Act subsidies and the reversal of recent Republican Medicaid cuts.

[Gideon Resnick]

And most Republicans want a funding bill.

[Co-host/Reporter]

That keeps spending in place as is.

[Gideon Resnick]

And they want to push negotiations on.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Health care down the road.

[Gideon Resnick]

Next week could add even more urgency.

[Co-host/Reporter]

To these negotiations, as health insurance open enrollment begins on November 1, according to.

[Gideon Resnick]

An analysis by KFF, a healthcare policy think tank.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Without the extensions, Americans on subsidized plans would see their premiums double on average.

[Gideon Resnick]

Today, we're going to look at one.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Of the central claims made by Republicans in this debate that Democrats want to support more medical care for undocumented immigrants, something they point out is prohibited by federal law.

[David Ovalle]

So it's sort of like two starkly different versions of what's going on, and the reality is it's somewhere more in the middle.

[Gideon Resnick]

David Ovalle is a health writer for the Washington Post.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Immigrants living in the country illegally are not eligible for federal health plans, including Medicaid and Medicare and insurance that is sold on the ACA marketplace.

[Gideon Resnick]

But there are things like the emergency.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Medicaid program, which reimburses hospitals for the cost of complying with a law signed by President Reagan that requires emergency rooms to treat all patients regardless of immigration status.

[Gideon Resnick]

The large domestic policy bill that Trump.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Signed into law earlier this year reduces the share that the federal government pays for that program, but states still do cover the cost. According to kff, emergency Medicaid spending represents a tiny, tiny fraction of overall Medicaid spending.

[Gideon Resnick]

That law that Trump signed also banned.

[Co-host/Reporter]

A number of lawfully present immigrants, like people with temporary protected status from Medicaid and Medicare coverage, as well as subsidized ACA plans. These are cuts that Democrats are hopeful to reverse.

[Gideon Resnick]

Some states offer programs that fund medical.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Care for undocumented immigrants, but recently some of those programs, like one in California, have begun to be rolled back due to budget shortfalls.

[Gideon Resnick]

Overall, Ovalle says the more common experience for millions of undocumented immigrants in the.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Country is avoiding interactions with many parts of the healthcare system because of language barriers, fears of deportation, and just the complexities of the system itself.

[David Ovalle]

It's a hodgepodge of services, right? They may go to a community clinic. That community clinic may or may not get some sort of federal or state funding. They go to different charity care, they will often forego care, and often they will pay out of pocket. So it's a vastly different experience and certainly it more resembles people who maybe just don't have any healthcare at all paid for by any kind of insurance. But it's not, you know, so uniform.

[Gideon Resnick]

He created the world's largest crypto exchange.

[Co-host/Reporter]

But ended up in prison after admitting to money laundering violations that allowed terrorists and criminals to prosper.

[Gideon Resnick]

Now Changpeng Zhao has become the latest.

[Co-host/Reporter]

High profile individual to be pardoned by President Trump. Zhao, the founder of Binance, was one.

[Gideon Resnick]

Of the Biden administration's biggest crypto related.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Prosecutions when he pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering and 2023.

[Gideon Resnick]

Here's then Attorney General Merrick Garland describing.

[Republican Senator]

The allegations Binance facilitated billions of dollars of unregulated cryptocurrency transactions. It willfully enabled hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions between American users and users subject to U.S. sanctions. And its platform accommodated criminals across the world who used Binance to move their stolen funds and other criminal proceeds.

[Gideon Resnick]

Zhao ultimately served four months in prison.

[Co-host/Reporter]

And the DOJ handed out a $4.3 billion fine to Binance.

[Gideon Resnick]

But despite Zhao's guilty plea, Trump said.

[Co-host/Reporter]

That he took a different view during remarks at the White House yesterday.

[President Donald Trump]

As I was told, I don't know him. I don't believe I've ever met him. But I've been told by a lot of support, he had a lot of support. And they said that what he did is not even a crime. It wasn't a crime that he was persecuted by the Biden administration. And so I gave him a pardon at the request of a lot of very good people.

[Gideon Resnick]

Binance had been pushing hard to secure this pardon, and Zhao himself hired lawyers.

[Co-host/Reporter]

And lobbyists with connections to the administration.

[Gideon Resnick]

But there's also a link between Binance.

[Co-host/Reporter]

And World Liberty Financial, a crypto company launched by Eric And Donald Trump Jr.

[Gideon Resnick]

Alison Morrow, a senior writer for CNN Business, told the network about the relationship.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Between their startup and Binance.

[Alison Morrow]

Binance has been helping facilitate trades of World Liberty Financial's token, which all helps kind of elevate the profile of the Trump family business. And that business alone has added an estimated $5 billion worth of fortune to the Trump family net worth.

[Gideon Resnick]

Trump's press secretary, Caroline Levitt, was asked.

[Co-host/Reporter]

About a potential conflict of interest, but would only say that Trump exercised his constitutional authority. And there was a, quote, very thorough examination of every pardon request.

[Gideon Resnick]

Trump has granted clemency to a number.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Of other crypto executives, including Ross Ulbricht, who created the dark Web marketplace Silk Road.

[Gideon Resnick]

And since Trump has taken office this.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Term, a number of lawsuits against crypto firms have been dropped.

[Gideon Resnick]

This latest pardon could pave the way.

[Co-host/Reporter]

For Binance to return to operation in.

[Gideon Resnick]

The U.S. a question Levitt said was.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Ultimately for the Treasury Department.

[Gideon Resnick]

Top Democrats have denounced the pardon as corrupt, and Republican Senator Thom Tillis told.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Reporters Zhao wasn't innocent and the pardon sent a bad signal.

[Gideon Resnick]

It can now complicate a bill to.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Regulate cryptocurrency, which needs bipartisan support in Congress.

[Gideon Resnick]

Before we let you go, a few.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Other stories we're following. President Trump called off plans for a federal deployment to San Francisco after being lobbied by tech leaders.

[Gideon Resnick]

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that officials in the Bay Area were getting worried that Trump might send the National Guard.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Into the city or a rush of immigration officers to ramp up arrests.

[Gideon Resnick]

San Francisco's Mayor Daniel Lurie announced Trump's.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Decision hours after protesters had clashed with immigration agents near Oakland.

[Gideon Resnick]

Trump posted on social media saying friends.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Of his asked him not to move forward with the surge and that Lurie had been making substantial progress.

[Gideon Resnick]

Tonight, the.

[Co-host/Reporter]

World Series kicks off with the Los.

[Gideon Resnick]

Angeles Dodgers looking to go back to.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Back in the Fall Classic as they head north of the border to take on the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays made it into the World Series after a dramatic seven game battle with the Seattle Mariners.

[Gideon Resnick]

Meanwhile, the Dodgers cruised with a four.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers.

[Gideon Resnick]

Mike Petriello is the director of stats.

[Co-host/Reporter]

And research at Major League Baseball.

[Gideon Resnick]

He said that while the Dodgers feel.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Like the easy pick given the star studded roster, don't count out Toronto just yet.

[Mike Petriello]

I think the greater public at large is not going to give the Blue Jays enough credit because most American fans haven't seen a lot of them over the course of a season, but they're playing really well and they've got a couple of superstars and some good starting pitching. And while I do think the Dodgers will take it six, it's going to be pretty close. It's not going to be a Brewer style beatdown.

[Gideon Resnick]

While this is familiar ground for the.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Dodgers, the Blue Jays haven't been to a world series since 1993.

[Gideon Resnick]

And finally, the clarinet is considered a.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Pretty hard instrument to master, but how about playing it while under the knife for brain surgery?

[Gideon Resnick]

65 year old Denise Bacon from England.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Has Parkinson's disease and she's been forced to leave her concert band as her condition deteriorated.

[Gideon Resnick]

She was wide awake while doctors implanted.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Electrodes into her skull to improve motor skills and to show the improvement in real time, she played a tune for the team of surgeons.

[Gideon Resnick]

Denise said that she felt her right.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Hand able to move much more easily once the surgeon simulation was applied and she was delighted with the results.

[Gideon Resnick]

You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening to the news app right now, stick around for the latest episode of Apple News. In conversation this week, Shamita sat down with Eric Latch, a staff writer at the New Yorker who profiled mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani. Latch talked to Shamita about Mamdani's life.

[Co-host/Reporter]

And his past criticism of the New York police.

[Eric Latch]

It's a gigantic, complex, huge load bearing element of the city infrastructure and bureaucracy and government and every mayor going back decades has had their time in office defined by their relationship to the police department. So the idea that this is just going to be a side issue, I think is naive.

[Gideon Resnick]

If you're listening in the podcast app, you can follow Apple News In Conversation to find that episode or come back to the Apple News Today feed tomorrow. All new episodes of In Conversation will.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Be available there on Saturdays as well.

[Gideon Resnick]

Enjoy the weekend and we'll be back.

[Co-host/Reporter]

With the news on Monday.