Disgraced ex-NBA star Damon Jones pleaded guilty in Brooklyn court Tuesday to participating in an alleged sweeping mob-linked gambling scheme that involved him leaking game information to bettors.
Jones, 49, fessed up in court to his part in the illicit scheme, admitting to the judge that he used “insider information that I obtained as a result of my relationships as a former player.”
Jones peddled details on the medical conditions or expected playing time of stars such as LeBron James — who he once played with — and Anthony Davis, prosecutors said.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to the court, my family, my peers and also the National Basketball Association,” Jones said in a statement he read in court Tuesday.
Jones played for 10 NBA teams from 1999 to 2009, raking in more than $20 million, and was an unofficial coach for the Los Angeles Lakers from 2022 to 2023.
But he confessed that from 2022 to 2024, he leaked knowledge on NBA players to outside gamblers so they could make favorable bets on games.
Follow noti.group’s latest on the gambling scandal rocking the NBA:
He pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud — charges that could land him up to 27 months behind bars when sentenced in September.
He is also charged in a related scheme where he allegedly used his fame to lure people into high-stakes poker games, which were rigged with various cheating technologies.
Jones is expected to plead guilty to those charges too.
More than 30 people were arrested over the schemes in October, with other former NBA players and alleged mobsters among those charged.
Jones is the first person to plead guilty in the sensational case.
With Post wires
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
