{"id":2469326,"date":"2025-07-31T19:21:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T23:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-nba-all-star-and-suspected-israeli-gangster-busted-by-feds-facing-prison-time\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T19:23:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T23:23:39","slug":"ex-nba-all-star-and-suspected-israeli-gangster-busted-by-feds-facing-prison-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-nba-all-star-and-suspected-israeli-gangster-busted-by-feds-facing-prison-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-NBA All-Star and Suspected Israeli Gangster Busted by Feds, Facing Prison Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fex-nba-all-star-and-suspected-israeli-gangster-busted-by-feds-facing-prison-time%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2469326&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas was arrested on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/afghan-refugees-face-federal-charges-after-trying-to-rape-child-strangle-woman-in-wisconsin-report\/\" title=\"Afghan Refugees Face ... After Trying To Rape Child, Strangle Woman In Wisconsin: Report\">federal charges related<\/a> to operating an illegal gambling ring. the 43-year-old is accused of hosting high-stakes poker games at his mansion in Encino, California, from September 2021 to July 2022. He faces three charges: conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, operating the business itself, and lying to federal investigators. Five other men were arrested alongside him,including a suspected israeli organized crime figure named Yevgeni Gershman. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >illegal operation involved collecting fees<\/a> from poker hands, hiring women to serve and entertain players (who had to give part of thier tips back to the house), and also chefs, valets, and armed guards on site. If convicted,the defendants could face up to five years in federal prison per charge. Arenas pleaded not guilty and was released on a $50,000 bond, with a trial scheduled for September 23. this is not Arenas&#8217; first issue related to gambling, as he was previously suspended in 2009 after bringing a gun to the locker room over a card game incident.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas was arrested Wednesday on charges of helping run an illegal gambling ring, according to federal officials.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ex-nba-all-star-offers-new-details-on-gun-incident-in-locker-room\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Arenas<\/a>, 43, is accused of hosting high-stakes poker games at a mansion he owned in Encino, California.<\/p>\n<p>He faces three federal charges: conspiracy to operate an illegal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/video-2-pitches-allegedly-triggered-mlb-gambling-probe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gambling<\/a> business, operating an illegal gambling business, and lying to federal investigators.<\/p>\n<p>Arenas appeared in court in Los Angeles and pleaded not guilty, ESPN <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/45861931\/gilbert-arenas-arrested-charges-illegal-poker-games\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>He was released on a $50,000 bond. His trial is scheduled for Sept. 23.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=vizqo9x0\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas and five other defendants, including a suspected high-level Israeli crime figure, were arrested today on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-chip-roy-spars-with-fbi-director-wray-over-storming-anti-abortion-advocates-house\/\" title=\"Rep. Roy confronts FBI Director Wray on raiding pro-life activist&#039;s home.\">federal indictment alleging<\/a> they operated an illegal gambling business in which high-stakes poker games were played at an Encino&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hTNSioq3Cf\">pic.twitter.com\/hTNSioq3Cf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/YahooSports\/status\/1950628994350514252?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;At this point in the case, he is presumed innocent, right?&rdquo; his lawyer Jerome Friedberg told reporters. &ldquo;He has the same right as any other citizen to that presumption.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Five other men were also arrested in the case, including a suspected <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-sets-cnns-kaitlan-collins-straight-israeli-agents-ground-confirmed-fordows-total-obliteration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Israeli<\/a> mobster.<\/p>\n<p>Federal agents say Yevgeni Gershman, 49, helped run the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mexicos-lockdowns-fuel-rise-in-drug-trafficking-forced-prostitution\/\" title=\"Mexico\u2019s lockdowns fuel rise in drug-trafficking, forced prostitution\">illegal business<\/a> with Arenas. The Justice Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-cdca\/pr\/former-nba-star-suspected-israeli-crime-figure-arrested-federal-indictment-alleging#:~:text=LOS%20ANGELES%20%E2%80%93%20Former%20NBA%20star,were%20played%20at%20an%20Encino\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">described<\/a> Gershman as &ldquo;a suspected organized crime figure from Israel.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Gershman is also accused of entering a fake marriage to stay in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>The indictment said the poker games ran from September 2021 to July 2022. Arenas allegedly rented out his mansion to host the games.<\/p>\n<p>One of his associates staged the house for gambling and collected rent from the people running the games.<\/p>\n<p>Federal officials said the group took a &ldquo;rake,&rdquo; or fee, from every hand played.<\/p>\n<p>They also hired women to serve drinks, give massages, and keep players company.<\/p>\n<p>Those women were required to give a cut of their tips to the house. The games also had chefs, valets, and armed guards on site, according to the Justice Department statement.<\/p>\n<p>If convicted, each person faces up to five years in federal prison for each charge. Agents from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/border-agent-ambushed-armed-illegal-alien-nyc-dhs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Homeland Security<\/a>, LAPD, and the IRS are investigating.<\/p>\n<p>Arenas seemingly celebrated being freed shortly after his arrest. On his X page, he <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NoChillGilZero\/status\/1950749761834824186\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posted a video<\/a> meme and wrote, &ldquo;THEY CANT HOLD ME.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Arenas last played in the NBA in 2012. He was a three-time All-Star. He averaged 20.7 points per game over 11 seasons.<\/p>\n<p>This isn&rsquo;t his first run-in with trouble over gambling.<\/p>\n<p>In 2009, he was suspended after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/24312447\/gilbert-arenas-says-gun-incident-trash-talking-not-money\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bringing a gun<\/a> to the locker room over a card game.<\/p>\n<p>Arenas&rsquo; son, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ev-driver-awoke-find-dashboard-flames-dread-turns-horror-tries-escape-cars-app\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alijah Arenas<\/a>, was in the news recently when he was injured in the crash of a Tesla Cybertruck. The younger Arenas was hospitalized in a coma for nearly a week, but has since reportedly recovered.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas was taken into custody Wednesday for allegedly participating in an illegal gambling operation, federal authorities say. The 43-year-old is charged with running high-stakes poker games at his Encino, California mansion. He faces three federal counts: conspiracy to run an illegal gambling business, operating such a business, and providing false information to federal investigators<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2469327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gilbert-Arenas.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50403,51050,7873,36394,36932],"class_list":["post-2469326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-crime-2","tag-law-enforcement-2","tag-nba","tag-organized-crime","tag-sports-scandal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gilbert-Arenas.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2469326"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2469331,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469326\/revisions\/2469331"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2469327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2469326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2469326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2469326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}