00:00Good morning. Today we are here in New York to announce a historic arrest across a wide-sweeping criminal enterprise that envelops both the NBA and La Casa Nostra.
00:10The men and women up here standing with me represent a small portion of the leadership team that brought profound justice in an era that needed it more than any.
00:22I'll just highlight some of the details in the case and the FBI work and then you'll hear from the others.
00:27But as you now know, individuals such as Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones, and Terry Rozier were taken into custody today, former, current NBA players and coaches.
00:39What you don't know is that this is an illegal gambling operation and sports rigging operation that spanned the course of years.
00:47The FBI led a coordinated takedown across 11 states to arrest over 30 individuals today responsible for this case, which is very much ongoing.
00:55Not only did we crack into the fraud that these perpetrators committed on the grand stage of the NBA, but we also entered and executed a system of justice against La Casa Nostra to include the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Luchesi crime families.
01:16And you'll hear more about those details today.
01:19The charges and the arrests that were taken down across this country range from wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery, illegal gambling.
01:27This FBI will leave no room for any perpetrator of crime across this country.
01:33You hear a lot about our work of defending the homeland and crushing violent crime.
01:37Well, this work is also representative of a colossal portion of the FBI's mandate to keep America safe and to keep our entertainment industry fair and secure.
01:48The men and women that are standing up here today worked tireless hours, days, months, and years.
01:55And the fraud is mind-boggling.
01:57It's not hundreds of dollars.
01:59It's not thousands of dollars.
02:00It's not tens of thousands of dollars.
02:02It's not even millions of dollars.
02:03We're talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery across a multi-year investigation.
02:13And we could not have done it without our interagency partners that are before us today.
02:17The NYPD, HSI, and teams of law enforcement officials from around the country made this day possible.
02:24It takes a team to bring this kind of justice, sweeping justice, into the halls of the United States courtrooms,
02:31where our brave United States attorney has led this prosecution.
02:35It takes courageous prosecutors to stand before you and say,
02:39we will not allow this kind of illicit activity to happen,
02:42not only at the national sporting level, but also where it hides in La Casa Nostra.
02:50And when these two collided together, they perpetrated a fraud that is historic in terms of not just money,
02:57but the scheme and the deceit that they utilize to steal and swindle people from money to include crypto fraud.
03:05This is an operation that showcases to you that under President Trump's administration,
03:10there is no room for any type of criminal behavior, be it on the world's largest stage
03:15or in the back rooms of tiny parlors where guard games are being plugged.
03:20We are proud to stand here today with the men and women of the FBI and this legal team.
03:26And to the United States attorney, I just want to thank you personally for taking the time to display the work
03:32that the media is about to hear about today in detail.
03:36As I said, it does take courageous prosecutors, but it takes a courageous United States attorney
03:40to bring this case because we are going to take heat for it.
03:44But we don't shy away in this administration.
03:46We don't say no.
03:47What we do is we bring the results across the finish line.
03:50We bring them to the public.
03:51We bring you accountability.
03:52And yes, they will have their day in court and you will hear the evidence through the court system exclusively.
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