EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas and five other defendants, including a suspected high-level member of an Israeli transnational organized crime group, were arrested Wednesday on a federal indictment alleging they operated an illegal gambling business.
Arenas, 43 — who was also known as “Agent Zero” during his time in the NBA — owned an Encino mansion where high-stakes poker games were being played, according to the indictment. He is charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, one count of operating an illegal gambling business, and one count of making false statements to federal investigators.
Arenas made his initial appearance and was arraigned Wednesday afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian ordered Arenas to be released on $50,000 bond. At his arraignment, Arenas pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
A trial is scheduled for Sept. 23.
Also charged in the indictment and arrested Wednesday in connection with the charges are:
Yevgeni Gershman, 49, aka “Giora,” of Woodland Hills, a suspected organized crime figure from Israel
Evgenni Tourevski, 48, aka “Eugene,” of Tarzana
Allan Austria, 52, aka “Elica,” of West Hills
Yarin Cohen, 27, aka “YC,” of Tarzana
Ievgen Krachun, 43, of Tarzana
Each of these defendants is also charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business and one count of operating an illegal gambling business. Their initial appearances and arraignments are also scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in LA.
According to the indictment returned on July 15 and unsealed Wednesday, from September 2021 to July 2022, Gershman, Arenas and the other defendants operated the illegal gambling business. Arenas rented out an Encino mansion he owned for the purpose of hosting high-stakes illegal poker games.
In the NBA, Arenas averaged 20.7 points during an 11-year career with four teams, most notably a stint in Washington from 2004-10. He was one of the key cogs in a handful of Wizards teams that enjoyed modest success in the mid-to-late 2000s.
Yet Arenas’ run in Washington ended in disgrace. Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton were suspended for the balance of the NBA season in January 2010 following a locker-room incident in which both players pulled guns on each other.
Arenas returned to play briefly for Washington the following season before being traded to Orlando in December 2010. He then bounced to Memphis in 2011, coming off the bench for 17 games before stepping away to play in the Chinese Basketball Association in 2012-13. He never returned to the NBA.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.