Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal charges alleging he profited from rigged poker games and supplied nonpublic injury information to sports bettors.
Jones, 49, entered the plea during back-to-back arraignments in federal court in Brooklyn. He spoke little, and his court-appointed attorney entered not guilty pleas on his behalf in two separate indictments tied to last month’s large-scale federal takedown of alleged gambling operations.
Prosecutors say Jones sold or tried to sell inside information about player injuries and participated in a scheme to rig high-stakes poker games. In one instance, they allege Jones provided a tip that LeBron James would be out of a Feb. 9, 2023, game against the Milwaukee Bucks and encouraged a co-conspirator to place a large bet on Milwaukee before the news was public. James was not on the Lakers’ injury report when the text was sent but was later ruled out and the Lakers lost 115-106, prosecutors said.
In another incident cited by prosecutors, bettor Marves Fairley also pleaded not guilty Thursday. Authorities say Fairley paid Jones about $2,500 on Jan. 15, 2024, for a tip that Anthony Davis would have
