Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas was arrested today along with five others in connection to an illegal gambling operation allegedly run out of a mansion he owned in Encino, California. The federal indictment accuses the group of organizing high-stakes poker games between September 2021 and July 2022.
Arenas, 43, also known as “Agent Zero,” is charged with conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, operating an illegal gambling business, and making false statements to federal investigators. He is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in federal court in downtown Los Angeles.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office Central District of California, among those arrested is Yevgeni Gershman, a suspected high-level figure in an Israeli transnational crime group, along with four others believed to have organized or managed the games. According to the indictment, Arenas rented out the mansion and directed others to prepare it for hosting exclusive, high-stakes poker events.
The operation allegedly included a structured rake system, hired servers and massage workers who were taxed on their tips, and the use of chefs, valets, and armed guards. Gershman and another defendant, Valentina Cojocari, also face charges of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and submitting false statements on immigration documents.
If convicted, each faces up to five years in federal prison per count.