Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, along with several other people, were arrested Wednesday, July 30, on charges they operated an illegal gambling business, including high-stakes poker games, at the star’s Encino home.
Arenas, 43, of Woodland Hills, and five others were anticipated to appear in federal court Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. All six are charged with conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business and operating an illegal gambling business.
Arenas faces an additional charge of making false statements to federal investigators, prosecutors said.
The other defendants arrested Wednesday are:
- Yevgeni Gershman, 49, of Woodland Hills,
- Evgenni Tourevski, 48, of Tarzana,
- Allan Austria, 52, of West Hills,
- Yarin Cohen, 27, of Tarzana, and
- Ievgen Krachun, 43, of Tarzana.
From September 2021 to July 2022, the six men operated an illegal gambling business, hosting “high-stakes illegal poker games” at Arenas’ Encino home on Gable Drive, according to prosecutors and court documents.
Arenas “staged the mansion to host the games, found co-conspirators to host the games, and collected rent from the co-conspirators on Arenas’ behalf,” prosecutors said.
Gershman, identified by prosecutors as a “suspected organized crime figure from Israel,” allegedly hired young women who would serve drinks, provide massages and offer companionship to players for tips, on which the defendants would charge a tax.
He also hired chefs, valets and armed security guards to staff the games.
Krachun was identified by prosecutors as a “chip runner” who would track players’ wins and losses, distribute chips and pay employees, prosecutors said.
According to an indictment, Arenas rented out the house for the weekly illegal poker games – at first on Wednesdays, then on Tuesdays – and sent Gershman a photo of a poker table that included a silhouette of a basketball player wearing an Arenas jersey with the number 0, along with the words “Arenas Poker Club.”
Tourevski organized the poker games and hired dealers, while Austria staffed armed security guards, according to the indictment.
In an attempt to bring in new players, in April 2022 Arenas allegedly texted another man named as a defendant in court documents, Arthur Kats, 51, of West Hollywood, that he was going to do a “youtube episode of me at the game but blur out players and girls that don’t want to be scene (sic) for my channel,” the court documents show.
Kats was responsible for staging the home for the illegal poker games, prosecutors said. Kats was not named among the arrestees in the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s statement Wednesday. Whether he was in custody was not immediately known.
Each of the men face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count if convicted as charged.
Arenas, a three-time NBA all-star, played 11 seasons in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies. He earned the nickname “Agent Zero” during his time with the Wizards.
His son, Alijah, was placed in a coma during a six-day hospital stay following a single-vehicle crash in Reseda in April. Alijah, a former Chatsworth High baskeball star who attends USC, will be out for at least six to eight months after he suffered a torn meniscus in his knee last week.
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