In a federal case reportedly involving the mafia and several NBA names, like Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier, the first real crack has started to widen. It comes from a former member of LeBron James’s orbit. Damon Jones had initially pleaded not guilty on November 6 after prosecutors for the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York charged Jones with two federal counts last October.

But Jones becomes the first of more than 30 defendants charged in the case to signal he will plead guilty, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. The presiding judge in the case has since directed the matter to Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Marutollo for further proceedings. Jones is expected to appear in front of a federal judge in Brooklyn on April 28.

The authorities positioned Jones to be at the center of a wide-reaching investigation spanning multiple overlapping networks. Prosecutors have said that Jones used his proximity to the Lakers as James’ personal shooting coach to collect and sell information that could be useful for gamblers. He has been accused of texting an unnamed co-conspirator the morning of the Purple and Gold’s February 9, 2023, game against the Bucks to bet big on the Milwaukee team because a player matching James’ description wouldn’t play. Notably, James had not yet been publicly ruled out, but ultimately missed the game due to ankle soreness.

Jones allegedly also sold injury information on another LA player before the January 15, 2024, game that he obtained from that player’s trainer, Marves Fairley, who is also charged in the case. This was shared with other bettors, who placed a roughly $100,000 wager on the Lakers to lose. The LA team lost, and Fairley asked him to repay him the $2,500 fee, according to the indictment. Prosecutors said that Jones tried to sell that insider information on players as early as December 2022. The indictment, which names dozens of defendants, claims Jones was a “face card” used to entice people to participate in the games.

Jones is also facing charges in another DOJ gambling investigation in which he is accused of participating in a poker game ring that took millions of dollars from unknowing victims. They sometimes used technology, including poker chip trays with hidden cameras and shuffling machines that could read the cards in the deck. However, Jones has pleaded not guilty in that case. Rozier and Billups have also pleaded not guilty.

This sports gambling investigation has gone on for quite a while, and prosecutors first brought charges against four men accused of working with former Raptors center Jontay Porter to bet on his statistics in June 2024. The NBA player allegedly manipulated his play and game time in two games to help gamblers win their wagers. Three of those men have since pleaded guilty, and Porter pleaded guilty to one federal count and is awaiting sentencing.