In a hilarious post to social media, ICE announced the arrest of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas and five others, including a prominent figure in the Israeli criminal world, for operating an illegal gambling operation at a massive mansion.
For context, Arenas referred to himself by the dramatic sobriquet “Agent Zero,” and ran the gambling ring from his opulent mansion. ICE announced the arrest with a clever series of gambling-related puns, much to the amusement of online conversations.
In any case, the official ICE account took to social media to announce the brave raid. The post read, “We ended up holding the winning hand during an operation where we arrested six criminals at former NBA star Gilbert Arenas’ mansion, July 30 [2025].”
Continuing the tongue-in-cheek announcement, the federal law enforcement agency wrote, “Among them: Arenas, who goes by “Agent Zero,” and Yevgeni Gershman, a suspected high-level member of an Israeli transnational organized crime ring,” adding, “The six people we arrested allegedly took a gamble on an illegal high-stakes poker ring in California. Guess they didn’t know when to fold ’em.”
In a more detailed announcement on its official website, ICE delved into the details of the criminal enterprise. The document revealed, “Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas and five other defendants – including a suspected high-level member of an Israeli transnational organized crime group – were arrested today on a federal indictment alleging they operated an illegal gambling business in which high-stakes poker games were played at an Encino mansion Arenas owned.”
Adding more context, on the former athlete at the center of this scandal, ICE wrote, “Arenas, 43, a.k.a. “Agent Zero,” of Woodland Hills, 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.”
Apparently, he didn’t act alone, and there were a handful of other alleged criminals running the illegal gambling house. The document stated, “From September 2021 to July 2022, Gershman, Arenas, and the other defendants operated an illegal gambling business. Arenas rented out an Encino mansion he owned for the purpose of hosting high-stakes illegal poker games. At Arenas’ direction, Arthur Kats, 51, …staged the mansion to host the games, found co-conspirators to host the games, and collected rent from the co-conspirators on Arenas’ behalf.”
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One of the conspirators was involved in several separate crimes as described by ICE. Describing the bizarre details, ICE declared, “Gershman, an Israeli citizen, also is charged along with Valentina Cojocari, 35, of Woodland Hills, with three additional counts – conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, marriage fraud, and making a false statement on an immigration document.”
Explaing how these actions violate immigration law, ICE annouced, “In early 2022, Gershman conspired with Cojocari to enter into a sham marriage for the purposes of obtaining permanent legal status in the United States and lied to immigration authorities to procure legal status for Gershman, who provided financial support to Cojocari in exchange for her participation in the sham marriage.”