Source: Tim Heitman / Getty
Gilbert Arenas has been out of the league for more than a decade, and he’s still managed to find himself in some sports-related legal issues.
Now the former Washington Wizard has been arrested for running an illegal gambling operation.
The arrest came in Southern California early Wednesday, with the United States Attorney’s Office claiming he, along with five others, rented out his Encino mansion for high-stakes card games.
The co-conspirators include Evgenni Tourevski, Allan Austria, Yarin Cohen, Ievgen Krachun, and the most damning being Yevgeni Gershman, who’s accused of being an Israeli crime figure.
They allege the games went down from September 2021 to July 2022, and he’s accused of even hiring someone to stage the home.
“At Arenas’ direction, Arthur Kats, 51, of West Hollywood, staged the mansion to host the games, found co-conspirators to host the games, and collected rent from the co-conspirators on Arenas’ behalf,” the statement reads.
Arenas even turned the games into a vibe by getting his so-called business partners to hire women to work at the makeshift casino, and even added a chef and hired men to work as valets and armed guards.
“Gershman hired young women who, in exchange for tips, served drinks, provided massages, and offered companionship to the poker players,” the filing continues. Even the women were hit with a tax and forced to give up their portion of their money.
Gershman, Tourevski, Austria, and Cohen managed the illegal “Pot Limit Omaha” poker games, collecting a “rake” fee from participants, and were responsible for inviting players to join the game nights.
Arenas and his five buddies are reportedly facing a 10-year prison sentence after being charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business and one count of operating an illegal gambling business.
The former NBA player is also facing an additional charge of making false statements to federal investigators.
See social media’s response to Arenas’ legal issue below.