Story perspectives

Ex-NBA Player Damon Jones Pleads Guilty to $10M Wire Fraud

4/30/2026

Summary

Damon Jones Guilty

Former NBA player Damon Jones pleaded guilty to two federal wire-fraud conspiracy counts on April 28 in Brooklyn.
He ran an insider-information scheme that caused losses exceeding $10 million and operated a nationwide rigged-poker ring.
Prosecutors will cut 15 months from the guidelines that called for 21-27 months for the betting charge and 63-78 months for the poker charge.
Jones will be sentenced on Jan. 6 after agreeing to forfeit $73,000.

Summary

Damon Jones Rigging

Prosecutors disclosed the investigation led to more than 30 arrests tied to organized-crime networks.
The scheme used Jones’s NBA reputation as a face card to attract high-net-worth participants to rigged poker games.
Investigators said the rigging employed altered shuffling machines and hidden cameras to control outcomes.
The NBA warned it will intensify monitoring of insider information and gambling, noting the fallout could spur reforms to protect nonpublic player injury data.

Summary

Jones Rigging Poker

X-ray equipment was used to rig high-stakes poker games in Miami and the Hamptons.
Jones received $2,500 for joining a Hamptons game where he was instructed to fold whenever he was uncertain.
Jones remains free on bail pending a sentencing hearing on January 6, 2027, after court documents showed he texted co-conspirators acknowledging knowledge of the cheating process.

1 of 3

Damon Jones Guilty

Former NBA player Damon Jones pleaded guilty to two federal wire-fraud conspiracy counts on April 28 in Brooklyn.
He ran an insider-information scheme that caused losses exceeding $10 million and operated a nationwide rigged-poker ring.
Prosecutors will cut 15 months from the guidelines that called for 21-27 months for the betting charge and 63-78 months for the poker charge.
Jones will be sentenced on Jan. 6 after agreeing to forfeit $73,000.

1 / 3