LOS ANGELES — Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas and a half-dozen other people are alleged to have run high-end, illegal poker games at a Los Angeles home rented by the player known as “Agent Zero,” federal authorities said Wednesday.
The eight were charged in connection with games conducted from Sept. 12, 2021, to July 20, 2022, charging documents say.
Arenas “would rent out a residence located on Gable Drive in Encino,” a suburban neighborhood of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, “for the purpose of hosting illegal poker games,” prosecutors said in court records.
While hosting a cash poker game isn’t illegal by definition, the operation crossed into a criminal act as organizers would “collect a ‘rake’ — that is, a fee the house would charge from each pot either as a percentage or a fixed amount per hand,” according to charging documents.
The operation even included a poker felt labeled “ARENAS POKER CLUB” with the image of Arenas in his basketball uniform and the famed No. Zero, officials said.
Arenas pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Wednesday, and he was released on $50,000 bond, the Justice Department said.
Arenas played 11 seasons in the NBA, including parts of eight campaigns for the Washington Wizards.
For a three-season stretch from 2004 to 2007, Arenas was one of pro basketball’s most prolific scorers, pouring in 25.5, 29.3 and 28.4 points per game in those years.
But his ‘ NBA career might also be as well-known for a weapons incident with Wizards teammate Javaris Crittenton in December 2009.
Also charged are: Yevgeni Gershman, Evgenni Tourevski, Allan Austria, Yarin Cohen, Arthur Kats, Ievgen Krachun and Valentina Cojocari, according to the indictment.
- All but Cojocari were named in the first two counts of conspiracy and conducting illegal gambling.
- Arenas was accused of making false statements to investigators in the third count.
- Gershman and Cojocari were accused in another count of conspiracy.
- Federal authorities accused Gershman, an Israeli citizen, and Cojocari, an American, of entering into a phony marriage to evade “immigration laws of the United States,” documents said.
- Gershman and Cojocari were accused of misusing of a visa in the fifth count, the charging paperwork said.
- Cojocari made false statements in an immigration application, authorities alleged.
Tourevski and Cohen were both ordered released on $50,000 bond, and Krachun, Austria and Cojocari were released on $10,000 bond, which Austria is appealing, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
All have pleaded not guilty, the office said.
Authorities are still looking for Kats, it said.
The card players were treated well at games, prosecutors said.
Gershman “would hire young women who, in exchange for tips, would serve drinks, provide massages and offer companionship to players at the Gable House,” according to the indictment.
And in turn, Gershman, Tourevski, Austria and Cohen “would charge the woman a ‘tax’ — that is, a percentage of the women’s earnings from working the games,” according to the charging document.
Those four were also responsible for hiring “chefs, valets and armed security for the illegal poker games,” prosecutors said.
The games involved dozens of people, as exemplified by a July 19-20 get-together in Encino, “which included approximately 26 players and over a dozen staff working the game,” the charging document said.
The defendants were picked up without incident Wednesday by Los Angeles police and agents with Homeland Security Investigations and the IRS.
A trial date has been set for Sept. 23, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Andrew Blankstein reported from Los Angeles and David K. Li from New York City.
Andrew Blankstein is an investigative reporter for NBC News. He covers the Western U.S., specializing in crime, courts and homeland security.
