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Ex-NBA player Damon Jones to be first to plead guilty in US gambling case

Al Jazeera · · 789 words · By The Associated Press
Organized crime Legal Proceedings Sports Betting and Fraud
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/4/16/ex-nba-player-damon-jones-to-be-first…

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Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

20 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 10
check_circle Corroborated 7
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 1
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“Ex-NBA player Damon Jones to be first to plead guilty in US gambling case”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results (Associated Press, WRAL, and others) confirm that Damon Jones is expected to be the first person to plead guilty in the gambling sweep.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Damon Herriman (born 31 March 1970) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Dewey Crowe on the FX neo-western crime series Justified (2010–15), and Romeo on the Starz drama miniseri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Herriman
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Damon Darron Jones (born August 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player best known for playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2005…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Jones
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Damon Jones is an American economist and associate professor at the Harris School of Public Policy in the University of Chicago. Alongside his academic research, Jones is a popular science communicato…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Jones_(economist)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“gambling sweep that led to the arrests of more than 30 people, including reputed mobsters and other basketball figures”
CORROBORATED
The Associated Press and other news reports explicitly state the gambling sweep led to the arrests of more than 30 people, including reputed mobsters and basketball figures.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The .30-30 Winchester / 7.62×52mmR (officially named the .30 Winchester Center Fire or .30 WCF) cartridge was first marketed for the Winchester Model 1894 lever-action rifle in 1895. The .30-30 (prono…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.30-30_Winchester
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 30 may refer to: 30 (number), the natural number following 29 and preceding 31 one of the years 30 BC, AD 30, 1930, 2030
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 30 (thirty) is the natural number following 29 and preceding 31.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30_(number)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“A change-of-plea hearing for Jones is scheduled for April 28 in Brooklyn federal court”
CORROBORATED
ESPN, WRAL, and other news sources confirm the change-of-plea hearing is scheduled for April 28 in Brooklyn federal court.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Damon Daunno (born November 28, 1984) is a Tony and Grammy-nominated American actor, singer, musician, and composer. He is best known for his work on Broadway and for the role of Curly McLain in the 2…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Daunno
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American journalist and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Runyon
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Joseph Guillermo Jones II (born July 15, 1976), better known by his stage name Jim Jones (or Jimmy Jones), is an American rapper and record executive. He was a member of the now-defunct hip-hop group …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones_(rapper)
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“Jones, 49, had previously pleaded not guilty to separate indictments charging him with profiting from rigged poker games and providing sports bettors with non-public information about injuries to stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the general legal situation is corroborated, the specific details about rigged poker and leaking injury info for LeBron James and Anthony Davis are not explicitly detailed in the provided search snippets, though they are mentioned in the context of the overall case in some reports. However, the provided evidence for claim 3 specifically contains irrelevant results (Matt Damon), and the specific details are not independently verified across the provided snippets.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025–26 NBA season is the 80th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 21, 2025 and ended on April 12, 2026. The third edition of the in-season NBA…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–26_NBA_season
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — House Party is a 2023 American comedy film directed by Calmatic (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Jamal Olori and Stephen Glover. It serves as a reboot of the 1990 film of the sa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Party_(2023_film)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — LeBron Raymone James ( lə-BRON; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", h…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Jones is charged in both cases with wire fraud conspiracy and money-laundering conspiracy”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (HuffPost, and other web results) confirm Jones is charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money-laundering conspiracy in both cases.
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web search NEUTRAL — Jones previously pleaded not guilty in both cases to charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Both charges carry a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison. He remains free on…
https://www.usnews.com/news/sports/articles/2026-04-28/ex-nb…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jones is charged in both cases with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.Jones was one of three people charged in both the poker and sports betting schemes. He remains free on bail.
https://www.espn.com/espn/print?id=48504292
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web search NEUTRAL — Jones is charged in both cases with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. A message seeking comment was left for his lawyer, Kenneth Montgomery. He told a judge at Jones’ arraignments…
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ex-nba-player-expected-to-bec…
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“Jones... was arrested last October along with Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier”
CORROBORATED
Confirmed by a cross-reference (Nypost) and multiple web search results stating Jones, Chauncey Billups, and Terry Rozier were arrested in October.
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web search NEUTRAL — NBA stars Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones are among those arrested in two illegal gambling cases, according to the FBI. Jones, a former NBA player, is one of three overlapping defendant…
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cz9j4dg2j0qt?post=asset:55e79f…
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web search NEUTRAL — Chauncey Billups has been charged in an alleged illegal poker scheme tied to organized crime, sources say. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect. Washington Wizards forward Alex Sarr (20) defends against M…
https://nypost.com/2025/10/23/sports/portland-trail-blazers-…
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web search NEUTRAL — The FBI finally acted in October, arresting several current and former players who are part of the probe.Chauncey Billups was arrested in a separate investigation to Terry Rozier, but Damon Jones is i…
https://www.sportingnews.com/au/nba/news/nba-gambling-arrest…
+ 1 more evidence source
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“Jones was one of three people charged in both the poker and sports betting schemes”
CORROBORATED
Three different news sources (NBC News, ABC11 Raleigh-Durham, and another web result) explicitly state Jones was one of three people charged in both schemes.
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web search NEUTRAL — Jones was one of three people charged in both the poker and sports betting schemes. Originally from Galveston, Texas, Jones earned more than $20 million playing for 10 teams in 11 seasons from 1999 to…
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/nba-g…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jones was one of three people charged in both the poker and sports betting schemes. Originally from Galveston, Texas, Jones earned more than $20 million playing for 10 teams in 11 seasons from 1999 to…
https://abc11.com/post/ex-nba-player-damon-jones-first-plead…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jones was one of three people charged in both the poker and sports betting schemes. Originally from Galveston, Texas, Jones earned more than $20 million playing for 10 teams in 11 seasons from 1999 to…
https://www.fox13now.com/sports/ex-nba-player-damon-jones-pl…
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“A native of Galveston, Texas, Jones earned more than $20m playing for 10 teams in 11 seasons from 1999 to 2009”
CORROBORATED
Confirmed by ABC11 Raleigh-Durham and a Wikipedia-based search result stating he is from Galveston, Texas, and earned over $20 million playing for 10 teams from 1999 to 2009.
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web search NEUTRAL — Originally from Galveston, Texas, Jones earned more than $20 million playing for 10 teams in 11 seasons from 1999 to 2009.
https://abc11.com/post/ex-nba-player-damon-jones-first-plead…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Damon Darron Jones (Galveston, 25 agosto 1976) è un ex cestista e allenatore di pallacanestro statunitense, professionista nella NBA.
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Jones
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web search NEUTRAL — The 1992 Olympic basketball Dream Team, the first to use current NBA stars, featured Jordan as the anchor, along with Bird, Johnson, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Scottie Pippen, Clyde Drexler, Karl …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Associatio…
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“He and James played together in Cleveland from 2005 to 2008”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided or found in the search results to confirm or deny the specific years Jones and LeBron James played together in Cleveland.
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“Jones served as an unofficial assistant coach for James’s Los Angeles Lakers during the 2022-2023 season”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided or found in the search results regarding Jones serving as an unofficial assistant coach for the Lakers in 2022-2023.
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“Jones sold or attempted to sell non-public information to bettors that James was injured and wouldn’t be playing in a February 9, 2023, game against the Milwaukee Bucks”
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“James wasn’t listed on the Lakers’ injury report at the time of the text message, but... was later ruled out of the game because of a lower-body injury... and the Lakers lost the game 115-106”
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“On January 15, 2024... sports bettor Marves Fairley paid Jones approximately $2,500 for a tip that Davis... would see limited playing time against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of an injury”
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“Fairley then placed a $100,000 bet on the Thunder to win... Davis played his usual minutes, scored 27 points and collected 15 rebounds in a 112-105 Lakers win”
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“Jones was among former NBA players used to lure unwitting players into poker games that were rigged using altered shuffling machines, hidden cameras, special sunglasses and even X-ray equipment built into the table”
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“Jones was paid $2,500 for a game in the Hamptons where he was instructed to cheat”
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“The poker scheme often made use of illegal poker games run by New York crime families that required them to share a portion of their proceeds with the Gambino, Genovese and Bonnano crime families”
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“Members of those families... helped commit violent acts, including assault, extortion and robbery, to ensure repayment of debts”
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“He played in every regular season game for three consecutive seasons from 2003 to 2006”
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“he worked as a “shooting consultant” for the Cavaliers and was an assistant coach when the team, led by James, won the NBA championship in 2016”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.