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A Pennsylvania man with a history of taking part in illegal betting activity is allegedly involved in the scandal that rocked the NBA this week when the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested several people.
Shane Hennen, 40, has ties to Philadelphia and currently resides in Nevada. He is alleged to have used insider information to wager on NBA games. He is also alleged to have provided others with insider information for the purposes of placing bets on the NBA.
Also, Hennen, who is known by the name “Sugar,” allegedly helped organize rigged poker games. According to his criminal record, Hennen previously pled guilty to supplying technology to rig poker games.
Player and former player arrested
The FBI made a huge splash coinciding with the start of the 2025-26 NBA season on Thursday when it announced the arrests of several high-profile individuals as the result of a long investigation into illegal gambling activity on and off the court.
In total, 34 people have been arrested, according to the FBI.
Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested by the FBI this week on accusations that he influenced his own player prop bets by feigning injury in NBA games in 2023. Curiously, the NBA had cleared Rozier previously of any wrongdoing.
According to the FBI, Hennen instructed “his associates to place bets on Rozier’s unders.”
A former NBA assistant coach, Damon Jones, who was once an NBA player, was also reportedly arrested by the FBI this week. It’s alleged that Jones used and supplied insider information to gamblers on player injuries and playing time, reportedly during the 2024 NBA season.
Billups allegedly involved in poker scheme
Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested on Oct. 23 for allegedly being involved in illegal, rigged poker games. According to the FBI, dozens of people were targeted and/or arrested in this investigation into illegal poker games and NBA gambling activity.
Hennen’s alleged involvement seems to be attached to the high-stakes poker games that were allegedly arranged by the mafia and supposedly featured Billups. The participation of Billups could have lured high-rollers to play in the games, which were, according to the FBI, fixed using technology that could read cards using sophisticated technology.
Reportedly, as much as $7 million was won in those games by the fixers.
The NBA was previously stained by a gambling scandal involving Jontay Porter, who pled guilty to wire fraud in association with his own activity surrounding player prop bets. Porter, who is a former Sixth Man of the Year award recipient, begged out of games to ensure his player props fell to the “under.”
