Damon Jones, the former NBA player-turned-coach who has been charged in two major federal gambling-related cases, will be free until trial on both.
Jones appeared in Brooklyn federal court on Thursday (Nov. 6) to be arraigned on both cases — one involving allegedly mob-backed fixed poker games and referred to by law enforcement as "Operation Royal Flush," and the other concerning charges about using inside information about NBA games for betting purposes. He pleaded not guilty to all charges in both cases, and was released on a $200,000 bond. The package was guaranteed by his mother and stepfather, who put up their Houston home.
As a condition of his release, Jones will not be allowed to gamble, or even enter any establishment whose primary business is gambling. He is also barred from contacting anyone involved in organized crime. Jones will be allowed to travel only within the Southern District of Texas—where he lives, including Houston and Galveston—and New York City.
Jones faces wire fraud and money laundering charges in both cases. In the NBA case, he is accused of selling or attempting to sell non-public information, including medical information about players, to people who would then use that information to place bets. This includes a January 2024 game in which he allegedly learned that a top Lakers player—identified in reports as LeBron James—was injured. James is not accused of any wrongdoing. Jones was not with the Lakers in any official role at that point, but had been a sort of unofficial assistant coach for the team during the 2022-23 season.
In the mob-related case known as Operation Royal Flush, Jones is accused of participating in rigged high-stakes card games.
Jones was represented in both cases by a court-appointed attorney, former Bobby Shmurda lawyer Kenneth Montgomery.
A co-defendant of Jones' in the NBA betting case, Marves Fairley, was also released on $200,000 bail on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Brooklyn federal court on Thursday, another person charged in Operation Royal Flush, alleged mobster Anthony Ruggiero Jr., attempted to get a judge to overrule the initial decision to deny him bail. Judge Ramon Reyes denied Ruggiero's attempt, leaving him imprisoned until trial.
