Is artist Sophie 'Pookie' Wei at the center of the NBA gambling scandal?

The plot has thickened in the NBA poker cheating scandal as one of the FBI’s list of suspects, a celebrity artist called ‘Pookie’ wearing a WSOP hoodie, has pleaded not guilty to charges.

The NBA cheating scandal has featured several very big names. But of all the 31 defendants charged with cheating at poker to steal up to $7 million in winnings by illegal means, one of them is more unique than most.

The celebrity artist ‘Pookie’, also known as Sophie Wei, has cashed for just $5,739 in poker tournaments. However, when she appeared before the court in Brooklyn, the adopted New Yorker, who has Taiwan and Brazil heritage, wore a World Series of Poker jersey. Denying the wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges, Wei pleaded not guilty before a judge bailed her for $100,000.

Prosecutors alleged in court papers that Wei took part in the rigged cash games where a hacked DeckMate2 automatic dealer, an X-Ray poker table and even the coating of the playing cards have been flagged as suspicious. Only this week, a photograph has emerged of Wei standing behind her fellow named conspirators in the FBI indictment, Saul Becher and Chauncey Billups.

Basketball has taken a big hit this week, with other defendants in the case such as Miami Heat and Boston Celtics player ‘Scary Terry’ Rozier having been suspended by the NBA. The NBA have ramped up education of their current players in the wake of the indictments.

Who is ‘Pookie’?

Wei’s connections run deep in Hollywood. Creating art works for stars such as comedian and actor Kevin Hart, Shaquille O’Neal’s two sons, rapper Drake and singers Mary J. Blige and Ne-Yo, ‘Pookie’ has only been creating art since 2020 but already has an impressive roster of clients and her artwork was on show at the NBA All-Star Game in 2024.

Wei is a unique character and is suspected of conning poker players out of $50,000 in Las Vegas back in 2019 using a manipulated card shuffling machine according to prosecutors. Starting her celebrity art business with a debut sale less than a year later, Wei wrote the following in 2023, the same year that VICE magazine hacked a DeckMate2 machine for the purposes of their report into poker manipulation.

‘These past few years been full of trial, tribulations and a lot of challenges, it's been a tough road of self-discovery and growth! I am proud of the changes I made, the chances I've taken, and learning to love myself in the process. Learn to let go of things that weren't meant for me and learn to love the things that are. Wasn't a comfortable nor an easy path, but [definitely] a worthy one.’

According to prosecutors in court, Wei was worried that Chauncery Billups had won most of the ‘improbable’ hands in the private game and suggested another conspirator should take over the seat. Ashley Scharge, Wei’s New York landlord, had a different perspective, calling Wei ‘a pain in the a***’ who was ‘nasty, bitchy and arrogant’.

While the truth will no doubt come out in court, ‘Pookie’ may be at the center of the game until the final deal.