Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas was arrested Wednesday (July 30) for allegedly running illegal high-stakes poker games at his home in Los Angeles, California.

According to The Athletic, Arenas and five others, including Yevgeni Gershman, a suspected high-level Israeli crime figure, were charged with three felony counts and “arraigned Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.”

After he pleaded not guilty, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian ordered Arenas released on a $50,000 bond.

Per the indictment filed by the federal prosecution team, Arenas is accused of running an illegal gambling ring from September 2021 through July 2022. The filing states that Arenas hosted games at his mansion in Encino, Calif., and was paid rent through an intermediary, Gershman, and four others, hosted games of various poker variants like “pot-limit Omaha.”

Arthur Kats, who was also arrested, allegedly conspired with Arenas to arrange the games, the indictment stated. In a series of text messages, beginning in October 2021, they planned out how they would stage the games. Arenas even had a customized poker table with “ARENAS POKER CLUB” inscribed on it, with his silhouette donning a No. 0 jersey.

After Arenas agreed to pay Kats at least $14,000 for setting up the games, he eventually texted Kats that he wanted to earn a rake, a cut of the proceeds wagered in the games, according to text messages in the indictment. On Dec. 28, 2021, Arenas texted Kats that he wanted to use the rake from a game he hosted “to send to the mother of a person described as his deceased former lover.”

In addition to being charged for his involvement in the illegal games, prosecutors also claimed Arenas lied to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in September 2022 in an attempt to recover money that was seized by Homeland Security from his master bedroom. He told border protection officials that he had nothing to do with the gambling ring at his home.

In total, Arenas has been 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.

Following his release, Arenas took to Instagram to convey that he was innocent of all the charges. 

“They can’t hold me,” the caption read. "I'm Back on the Block like it's HOT. … ‘just rented the house’ Wasn't a part of the Festivities #SnitchingGilComingSOON.”