Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas was arrested Wednesday and charged alongside five others with conspiracy for allegedly running illegal “high-stakes” poker games in Encino that included hiring women to provide “companionship” for gamblers, court records show.
Arenas, 43, rented out an Encino mansion that he owned between September 2021 and July 2022 “for the purposes of hosting high-stakes illegal poker games,” according to a news release issued by the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. Players were charged a “rake,” or tax, to play, in addition to whatever they bet into various pots, prosecutors alleged in court records.
Best known for his time as a guard on the Washington Wizards, Arenas is identified in court records by his nickname “Agent Zero.” He last played professionally in China in 2013.
Arenas has been charged with conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, operating an illegal gambling business and making false statements to federal investigators. Arenas wore red basketball shirts and a shirt with the words “just grind” as he pleaded not guilty during a brief court appearance in downtown L.A. on Wednesday afternoon.
A personal spokesperson for Arenas did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Indicted alongside Arenas were: 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. Prosecutors described Gershman as a “suspected high-level member of an Israeli transnational organized crime group.”
Cohen and Krachun also pleaded not guilty Wednesday. Gershman’s hearing was continued.
Gershman, Tourevski, Austria and Cohen managed the poker games, prosecutors said. Gershman also allegedly hired young women to serve drinks, provide massages and offer “companionship” to players, according to the indictment.
The games began to come together in September 2021, according to the indictment. That year, Arthur Kats, 51, texted Arenas asking whether he planned on doing his own game, records show. Arenas allegedly responded that he “might throw plo games at my house,” referring to illegal “Pot Limit Omaha” poker games at the “Gable House.”
Authorities said Kats was not arrested alongside the other defendants Wednesday and law enforcement is actively searching for him.
The following month, Arenas allegedly texted Kats the date that the house would be available to host, the amount of rent he wanted to charge and the number of games he planned on hosting there per week. In November 2021, authorities said, Arenas texted Kats a picture of a gold-trimmed poker table with “ARENAS POKER CLUB” printed on it and an image of a basketball player with a jersey with the name “Arenas” and the number zero below it.
That year, in December, Kats allegedly texted Arenas saying that he owed him $14,000 for tables and chairs as a startup expense for hosting the games. That same month, Arenas allegedly told Kats he wanted the rake from an illegal poker game at the house to go to the mother of a deceased former lover.
The following year, authorities allege that Kats let Arenas know Tourevski and his partners were ready to host illegal poker games at the house on Wednesdays. In February 2022, Gershman allegedly texted contacts about a new place for “Pot Limit Omaha.”
Gershman allegedly sent coded text messages to women inviting them to work the illegal poker games and in one case asking if a woman was open to engaging in prostitution at the house. According to the indictment, Gershman explained to one woman that he charged women 25% to 35% of their earnings from working the games.
A game at the house in July 2022 allegedly drew 26 players and more than a dozen staff, according to the indictment. Chefs, valets and armed security guards were allegedly hired to staff the illegal poker games.
According to the indictment, Arenas sought to get back funds that had been seized from his master bedroom by Homeland Security Investigations on July 20, 2022. Authorities allege that Arenas falsely stated that he wasn’t involved in anything happening at the party.
Authorities said Arenas “had knowingly provided gambling equipment at the Gable House to be used to host an illegal poker game on July 19, 2022, had knowingly rented out the Gable House to be used to host the illegal poker game on July 19, 2022, and was collecting rent from the hosts for operating an illegal poker game at the Gable House on July 19, 2022.”
L.A. federal prosecutors wrote that when Arenas’ house was raided, “illegal gambling activities were in full swing,” with people detained or questioned.
Arenas and the other men were slated to make their initial appearance in downtown L.A. on Wednesday afternoon. Arenas’ attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gershman was separately accused of conspiring with 35-year-old Valentina Cojocari to enter into a “sham marriage” so he could obtain legal permanent resident status in the U.S., prosecutors said.
According to court filings by L.A. federal prosecutors, Gershman has criminal convictions in Israel, including conspiracy to commit murder and narcotics trafficking.
This is not the first time Arenas has run afoul of authorities because of gambling. In 2009, Arenas and then-Wizards teammate Javaris Crittenton allegedly pulled guns on each other during a locker room argument over a card game. Police launched an investigation and Arenas later admitted to having three guns in his locker. No charges were filed but he was suspended for most of the 2009-10 NBA season.
Arenas’ 18-year-old son, Alijah, was briefly placed in a coma after a serious car accident in Reseda earlier this year. The Chatsworth basketball standout and top-tier USC recruit has since recovered. Neither drugs nor alcohol were involved in the crash.