The prosecution anticipates plea agreements in the rigged poker case that implicates Chauncey Billups

The federal investigation into alleged rigged poker games that led to charges against NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and former player Damon Jones (linked to LeBron James) is entering a decisive phase. According to a filing by prosecutors on Tuesday, the Government plans to offer formal guilty pleas to 12 of the 31 defendants and is "reasonably optimistic" about reaching agreements with another nine before the case goes to trial.

All defendants must appear before the federal court on Wednesday for a follow-up hearing. Since the previous hearing on November 24, the defenses have had access to the collected evidence, which remains under a judicial protection order.

According to the prosecutors' documentation, the file includes body camera recordings, arrest reports, electronic evidence from seven devices and Apple iCloud accounts, over 100,000 pages of financial and phone records, as well as over 800 pages of surveillance photographs. Also included in the case are images captured by a fixed camera at 147 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, one of the locations where the rigged games allegedly took place.

The Government has independently provided nearly seven terabytes of digital information from seized devices and cloud accounts obtained during the arrests in October.

Serious problems for Billups

The latest filing does not specify which defendants may be negotiating an agreement or whether Billups is among them. The head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers has been on unpaid administrative leave since his arrest. In November, he pleaded not guilty to the money laundering and electronic fraud charges against him.

After being released on a five million dollar bond, Billups has settled in the Denver area, according to sources close to the coach. The progress of negotiations will dictate the course of a process that could be partially resolved through agreements before going to trial.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La fiscalía prevé acuerdos de culpabilidad en el caso de póker amañado que salpica a Chauncey Billups