Shane Hennen, a former pool prodigy and prominent betting influencer, is expected to plead guilty to a federal wire fraud conspiracy charge linked to a major illegal gambling operation, according to a court filing filed Tuesday in Brooklyn. Federal authorities allege that Hennen played a central role in three intertwined criminal cases involving rigged poker games, illicit sports betting, and point shaving schemes across basketball leagues in the United States and China.

At 41, Hennen — known by the nickname “Sugar Shane” — is one of approximately a dozen defendants facing charges in a sprawling investigation into organized crime’s infiltration of gambling and professional sports. Prosecutors assert that he facilitated high-stakes poker matches rigged by mafia-linked figures, exploited inside information on NBA players to place bets, and recruited college athletes and players overseas to manipulate basketball outcomes.

Hennen’s participation in the poker scheme involved providing a rigged shuffling machine called a DeckMate. This device secretly read playing cards and predicted potential winning hands. The machine transmitted the data to an off-site “operator,” who signaled confederates at the table through hand gestures, thereby allowing certain players to gain unfair advantages. Law enforcement recovered photos and details of the device from Hennen’s iCloud account.

The poker games took place primarily in New York City, Las Vegas, and the Hamptons and featured former professional athletes—such as Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones—acting as “face cards” to attract wealthy gamblers. Billups, charged with money-laundering and wire fraud conspiracy, has pleaded not guilty, while Jones has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Officials say the games were linked to organized crime families and often included illicit activities such as drug use and prostitution.

Hennen defended his conduct in prior interviews, characterizing his involvement as part of a broader culture of cheating pervasive in poker circles. He contended there were “no true victims,” describing the players as actively trying to outwit one another. Nonetheless, prosecutors have presented evidence they say would strongly undermine such defenses at trial.

The illegal sports betting charges arose following Hennen’s arrest at a Las Vegas airport in January 2025 as he attempted to travel to Panama. Since then, he has been indicted in multiple jurisdictions, with cases touching on manipulations in NBA, NCAA, and Chinese Basketball Association games. Authorities allege Hennen placed large wagers on NBA players Terry Rozier and Jontay Porter underperforming in specific statistical categories, using inside information to profit from point shaving.

Porter, who is related to Brooklyn Nets star Michael Porter Jr., pleaded guilty in July 2024 and was banned from the league for life. Rozier, a free agent since being released by the Miami Heat, has not faced indictment but was named in allegations related to game manipulation. Malik Beasley, another NBA player also implicated, has been linked to underperformance tied to gambling debts; he was indicted in June 2025. Prosecutors have suggested Beasley’s actions were connected to debts owed to former teammate Ed Davis.

Hennen’s rise in the gambling world followed a period of incarceration for drug charges. Since 2019, he had developed a business selling betting insights and reportedly placed wagers involving hundreds of thousands of dollars on various professional sports leagues. The increased legalization and acceptance of sports betting, particularly within the NBA—whose commissioner Adam Silver has publicly advocated for regulated gambling—contrasts starkly with the extensive illegal activities uncovered in this investigation.

A trial for the poker conspiracy case is scheduled to begin in Brooklyn in early November. While 19 defendants have either pleaded guilty or are expected to do so, Hennen’s guilty plea’s impact on his other related cases remains uncertain. His attorney has not responded to requests for comment, and Hennen himself was unreachable for comment on Tuesday.