NBA coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty in a Brooklyn federal court on Monday, to allegations of participating in a mafia-linked, illegal poker operation in a case that has rocked US professional basketball.
Mr Billups, who appeared in a large federal courtroom in Brooklyn along with roughly 30 other defendants in the case, faces charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
Prosecutors allege that he acted as a "face card", who gave the illegal poker scheme a veneer of prestige and lured unsuspecting players to rigged games.
US District Judge Ramos E Reyes later set Mr Billups' bond at $5m, with the coach's wife and daughter serving as signatories at a subsequent bond hearing.
Mr Billups is currently free, with travel restrictions.
