Twelve defendants prepare guilty pleas in NBA-related rigged poker fraud case

Federal prosecutors have asked a federal judge in Brooklyn to schedule guilty plea hearings for 12 defendants accused of taking part in an alleged NBA-related scheme that cheated players during illegal poker games held across the United States.

In a July 14 letter seen by ReadWrite, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York told U.S. District Judge Ramon E. Reyes Jr. that Nelson Alvarez, Louis Apicella, John Gallo, Marco Garzon, Jamie Gilet, Shane Hennen, Horatio Hu, Zhen Hu, Nicholas Minucci, Michael Renzulli, Angelo Ruggiero Jr., and Julius Ziliani are expected to plead guilty to Count One of the indictment. Prosecutors asked the court to place change-of-plea hearings on its calendar and said an elements sheet for the offense accompanied the request.

Twelve defendants move toward guilty pleas in alleged NBA-related poker conspiracy

Count One charges conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors contend the conspiracy operated from at least 2019 and relied on sophisticated technology to secretly identify players’ cards before relaying that information to coordinated cheating teams. According to the indictment, the operation targeted illegal poker games in New York City and other locations around the country, leaving victims with losses that prosecutors previously estimated at more than $7.15 million.

Investigators allege the defendants used altered card-shuffling machines, hidden wireless devices and other technology to determine cards, predict winning hands and send information in real time to players seated at the tables. Members of the alleged teams then communicated through covert signals, giving them an advantage over opponents who believed they were participating in ordinary underground poker games.

The indictment, unsealed in October 2025, charged 31 people and alleged ties to members and associates of the Bonanno, Gambino and Genovese crime families. Court filings describe two recurring Manhattan poker locations, identified as Washington Place and Lexington Avenue, where prosecutors say rigged games regularly took place. The Washington Place operation allegedly served as the central hub, while a participant known as the “Quarterback” was accused of relaying card information received through concealed technology.

Federal prosecutors have also alleged that organized crime figures approved or protected some of the gambling operations, collected portions of the proceeds and helped recover gambling debts. The indictment includes additional counts involving money laundering, extortion conspiracies and robbery conspiracy against various defendants, although the latest filing says these 12 defendants are expected to plead guilty only to the wire fraud conspiracy charge.

Several defendants named in the latest request, including Apicella, Gallo, Hennen, Zhen Hu, Renzulli and Ruggiero Jr., were previously identified by prosecutors as participants in the alleged cheating operation. Former NBA figures Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones were also charged in the original case as alleged “Face Cards” who prosecutors say attracted wealthy poker players, while Jones has separately appeared in court filings connected to an ongoing federal sports betting investigation. The government has not said when the requested plea hearings will be scheduled.

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