The federal government has secured a major guilty plea in its case regarding an allegedly rigged poker game run by organized crime that ensnared dozens of defendants, including Hall of Fame point guard Chauncey Billups, who has maintained his innocence.
Shane Hennen, a central figure in both cases that erupted last October, will plead guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy in the poker case, according to a letter filed by the government Tuesday. The letter notes that 11 other defendants in the case are also “expected” to plead guilty. In total, 19 of the 31 total defendants in the poker case have now either pleaded guilty or agreed to do so. He is also a defendant in the parallel case that alleges gamblers were profiting by betting on NBA games using inside information. Those two cases are playing out in New York.
Hennen is also a key figure in a separate gambling scandal that exploded in January, where federal prosecutors in Philadelphia accused 26 individuals of being involved in a plot to fix NCAA Division I men’s basketball and Chinese Basketball Association games between September 2022 and February 2025. Hennen pleaded not guilty in that case back in February. His attorney in that case did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
