FBI Director Kash Patel, who described the scam as “confusing,” is probably most annoyed that he himself did not get a share of the pot in what was the largest poker scam ever discovered.
While the United States is ungluing and large parts of the White House are being demolished to create a ballroom the size of a football field under Donald Trump, there has been a news story that is at least a little entertaining.
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Celebrities, professional sports stars and wealthy gamblers sat at a table hoping to win big in a game of Texas Hold ‘Em.
But they didn’t know that it was almost impossible. They were “fishermen” who were allegedly exploited by the mafia in a large-scale poker scam that included X-ray card tables, secret cameras, chipboard analyzers, and glasses and contact lenses that could read their hand.
In what sounds like a plot from an Ocean’s Eleven movie, prosecutors claim that these “unsuspecting” victims were cheated out of at least $7 million (about £5.25 million) in poker games – with one person losing at least $1.8 million.
The scheme, which US prosecutors described as “reminiscent of a Hollywood movie,” was revealed in an extensive federal investigation that led to over 30 arrests, including members of La Cosa Nostra crime families, Portland Trail Blazers basketball coach Chauncey Billups and former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Damon Jones.
FBI Director Kash Patel called it a “confusing” scam scheme that tricked victims in New York, Miami, Las Vegas and other US cities.
Arrests in the scheme were announced on Thursday along with those in an alleged basketball betting scheme, in which professional NBA players are accused of faking injuries to influence odds.
The underground poker scam started as early as 2019, according to prosecutors, and was allegedly run by the mafia – specifically by members of notorious crime families, including Bonnano, Gambino, Lucchese, and Genovese. A portion of the profits allegedly helped fund their criminal activities, according to prosecutors.
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Former professional athletes, described by prosecutors as “face cards,” were enlisted to help in the scheme and entice victims to gamble.
Attracted by the opportunity to play with a high-profile celebrity – such as Billups or Jones – a wealthy, “unsuspecting victim” was recruited to illegal, underground poker games where tens of thousands of dollars were at stake, prosecutors claim.
Unbeknownst to the players—referred to in the scheme as a “fish”—everyone around them was part of the widespread fraud—from the players to the dealers, even the technology used to shuffle the cards and count the chips, according to a lengthy federal indictment.
Advanced wireless technology was also used to deceive players during games, most commonly in Texas Hold ‘Em.
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An X-ray poker table was used to read face-down cards, and a rigged card shuffling machine was also used in the scheme, according to prosecutors.
Technology was everywhere—an X-ray table that read all face-down cards, analyzers inside chipboards, a rigged shuffling machine that read cards and predicted who would have the best hand, and pre-marked cards that allowed those who wore special sunglasses and contact lenses to read what everyone had in their hand.
Secret cameras – built into tables and lamps – also helped convey information to those who helped in the scheme, according to the authorities.
In addition, there was a sophisticated method of communicating and rigging the game, prosecutors claim.
Information from the game was sent to an off-site accomplice – called an “operator” by prosecutors – who would then send information to another player sitting at the table who was part of the scheme – whom prosecutors call a “quarterback” or “driver.”
That person would then secretly signal to others, prosecutors claim, effectively stealing money and making it impossible for victims to win.
Text messages from the U.S. Department of Justice evidence suggest that the “quarterback” would either touch the $1000 chip, tap his chin, wrist, or arm to signal which co-conspirator had the better hand.
If the victim had the best hand, the “quarterback” would touch his black chips.
The texts also seem to show that co-conspirators sometimes agreed to lose some hands in order to keep the victims at the gambe table longer.
Another series of texts suggests that participants in the scheme avoided suspicion of cheating by swapping players and losing money to co-conspirators.
The authorities estimate that each game would cost a victim tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Prosecutors allege that the defendants allegedly laundered the funds from the scheme through cryptocurrency, cash exchange, and racketeering.
A portion of the profits went to those who helped in the scheme, according to prosecutors, and some allegedly went to finance the mafia’s criminal activities.
“This alleged scheme ravaged the entire nation, exploiting the fame of some and the wallets of others to fund the Italian crime families,” said FBI Assistant Director Christopher Raia.
Billups, who was accused of being a “face card” in the fixed card games, was arrested in Portland and placed on leave by the NBA. The Portland Trail Blazers said in a statement that they were aware of the allegations involving their head coach and are “fully cooperating with the investigation.”
Jones was arrested in connection with both the poker fraud and the NBA claims scheme. He is charged with two counts of conspiracy for wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy for money laundering.
