Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups entered a not-guilty plea on Monday to federal charges alleging his involvement in Mafia-connected illegal gambling operations that have sent shockwaves through the NBA, according to prosecutors.

Billups — a former Detroit Pistons standout and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame — was taken into custody in connection with allegedly manipulated underground poker games reportedly linked to Mafia crime families.

He was investigated alongside Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier as part of an FBI operation examining a scheme in which players were allegedly deceived through advanced cheating tools, including an X-ray poker table and specially barcoded playing cards.

Authorities say dozens of additional suspects were swept up in the FBI raid.

Following their arrests, both Rozier and Billups were placed on indefinite leave by the NBA while the investigation proceeds.

Rozier and former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones were also among six individuals detained in a separate sports-betting case.

Billups has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. He pleaded not guilty to those charges on Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York confirmed to AFP.

After an initial court appearance in Portland, Oregon, Billups was released on bond. He later appeared briefly in a Brooklyn courtroom, represented by attorney Marc Mukasey. Prosecutors said he will sign a $5 million bond in the Eastern District of New York as part of his pre-trial release conditions.

According to prosecutors, Billups’s public profile was used to attract participants to high-stakes poker games that allegedly relied on “high-tech cheating technology,” including card-reading shufflers, concealed cameras, and barcoded decks.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last month that he was “deeply disturbed” by the breadth of the FBI’s investigation into illegal gambling.

“My initial reaction was I was deeply disturbed,” Silver told Amazon Prime, emphasizing that protecting the league’s integrity is paramount.

He also expressed regret that the situation has overshadowed the early season. “I apologize to our fans that we are all dealing with, now, this situation,” Silver said.