Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, 5 others charged with running illegal poker games at his L.A. mansion
LOS ANGELES — Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas was arrested Wednesday along with five other people, including a suspected member of an Israeli organized crime group, on suspicion of hosting illegal high-stakes poker games at a Los Angeles mansion owned by Arenas, federal prosecutors said.
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All six defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business and one count of operating an illegal gambling business, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office. They were all scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon.
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Arenas, 43, is also charged with making false statements to federal investigators, the statement said. He is named in the indictment as 'Agent Zero,' a nickname from his playing days with the Washington Wizards.
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His attorney Jerome Friedberg said outside the courthouse that he hadn't had much time to speak with his client and couldn't comment on the case.
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'At this point in the case, he is presumed innocent, right?' Friedberg said. 'He has the same right as any other citizen to that presumption and that's how he should be treated.'
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The other five defendants are residents of Los Angeles ranging in age from 27 to 52. Among them is a 49-year-old man described by prosecutors as 'a suspected organized crime figure from Israel.'
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The indictment says that from September 2021 to July 2022, the defendants staged the home in the Encino neighbourhood to host 'Pot Limit Omaha' poker games and other illegal gambling activity. The poker players paid a 'rake,' a fee charged as a percentage or fixed amount from each hand gambled, court documents claim.
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One of the defendants hired young women who, in exchange for tips, served drinks and provided massages and 'offered companionship' to the poker players, according to prosecutors.
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'The women were charged a 'tax' — a percentage of their earnings from working the games. Chefs, valets, and armed security guards also were hired to staff these illegal poker games,' the statement said.
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The Israeli man faces separate charges including marriage fraud and lying on immigration documents. He is suspected of conspiring with a 35-year-old Los Angeles woman to enter into a sham marriage for the purposes of obtaining permanent legal status in the U.S.
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