Eric Earnest pleads guilty in the NBA betting and rigged poker cases as his lawyer says Chauncey Billups gave him no inside information

Eric Earnest, a central figure in the federal inside-information betting case tied to NBA player Terry Rozier, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Prosecutors have said an unnamed co-conspirator told Earnest that the Portland Trail Blazers would be tanking and that certain players would sit out a March 24, 2023, game against the Chicago Bulls. The indictment describes that person in a way that lines up with former Blazers coach Chauncey Billups' career. Billups has not been charged in that case.

In court, Earnest, 54, said he "agreed with another person to place an illegal bet on an NBA game with a sportsbook" around that date.

A 'fundamental disagreement'

A federal prosecutor told the court the government would have proved that the co-conspirator was an NBA head coach at the time of the bet and gave inside information to others who bet on the game. The prosecutor did not name the person.

Earnest's attorney, Peter Brill, pushed back after the hearing. "Our position is that Chauncey Billups did not at any time provide inside information to Mr. Earnest that he used to place any bets," he said. Brill called it a "fundamental disagreement" with the government.

Billups' attorney, Marc Mukasey, had no comment on Brill's statement.

Plea in the poker case too

In a separate hearing Thursday, Earnest also pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a case over allegedly rigged poker games. Billups is charged in that case and has pleaded not guilty.

Earnest admitted to playing in poker games that "were rigged against certain players" starting in April 2019. Prosecutors say the games used shuffling machines that could help predict the cards players were holding.

What comes next

Prosecutors estimated that federal guidelines could mean 30 to 37 months in prison for Earnest in the betting case and 63 to 78 months in the poker case. He is set to be sentenced on March 4, 2027, in the poker case and on April 15 in the betting case.

The remaining defendants in both cases, including Rozier and Billups, are scheduled to go to trial in early 2027.