She was rumored to be a reckless gambler—and, as it turned out, a tenant with secrets of her own.
The only woman tangled in the NBA gambling bombshell owes $8,000 to her furious former Queens landlord—who finally kicked out the 'pain in the ass' after she wrecked her apartment and left a nude self-portrait behind.
Sophia "Pookie" Wei, 40, was charged Thursday with wire fraud and money-laundering conspiracy as the FBI nabbed 31 suspects—from NBA players to notorious New York mobsters—allegedly rigging poker games that scammed high rollers out of $7 million over years, prosecutors revealed.
In 2019, Sophia 'Pookie' Wei was playing poker alongside Chauncey Billups (left) and Saul Becher (rear). Obtained by NYPost
Despite raking in cash as part of the scheme’s "cheating teams," the accused swindler stiffed her Bayside landlord, who evicted her in September 2022 for skipping rent—and blasted Wei as a "pain in the ass" after she wrecked the apartment, even leaving a nude self-portrait painted on the wall.
Ashley Scharge spoke bluntly about his former deadbeat tenant—and her part in the alleged con didn’t get a single soft landing.
"I hope she goes to jail," the 66-year-old fumed to The Post Thursday afternoon
Sophia Wei strode out of Brooklyn federal court Thursday with brazen confidence, sporting a gray sweatshirt emblazoned with the 'World Series of Poker' logo. Paul Martinka
“I know I’m never going to get my money back, so jail is the next best thing.”
The furious landlord added that the shady tenant had lived in the apartment for about 10 years—mostly alone after her husband skipped out just three months in.
“She was a pain in the ass — nasty, bitchy, what else? Arrogant,” he charged.
“She hung out with a lot of sleazy guys.”
Wei didn’t just trash the place—she painted a nude self-portrait across the wall. Ashley Scharge
Sophia Wei allegedly turned Ashley Scharge’s Queens apartment into a disaster zone, leaving her landlord fuming. Reuven Fenton
The once-tidy floor of Sophia Wei’s Queens rental was trashed, sending her landlord into a rage. Ashley Scharge
The landlord fumed that the corrupt tenant had called the apartment home for about 10 years—mostly alone after her husband bolted just three months after they moved in. Ashley Scharge
Rent? She skipped it. Meanwhile, she flaunted a Mercedes SUV and flashy designer clothes as if nothing was wrong.
“The kind of stuff that left no room for imagination,” the ex-landlord recalled.
She’d just say, “I don’t have it.” That was the end of it, Scharge said. "She owes me $8,000, and I have no clue where she’s hiding. I even thought about hiring a private investigator, but it’s way too expensive."
“She wore a lot of expensive clothes. She drove a Mercedes SUV. I knew something was up. She couldn’t pay her rent but she drove a Mercedes.”
Scharge recalled being shocked when he finally evicted the alleged con artist: the apartment was wrecked, and piles of pricey belongings were scattered everywhere.
Wei may have stopped paying rent, but she wasn’t missing a beat—flaunting a Mercedes SUV and eye-catching designer clothes everywhere she went.
“I went up there after I kicked her out,” Scharge said. “She’d destroyed the place.”
He said Wei painted a topless self-portrait on the wall and had converted one of her closets into what he called "one of those video rooms."
“I thought she was making movies. She had fancy studio lights. She owned a cable box, which she wasn’t allowed to do,” the lessor said.
The scheme reportedly ensnared NBA stars, including (from left) Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Heat guard Terry Rozier, and ex-Cavaliers guard Damon Jones. AP
From left, alleged mobsters Anthony Santoro (‘Skinny’), Vito Badamo, and Ernest Aiello faced the court for their arraignment. New York Post
Chauncey Billups, a Hall of Famer, leads the Portland Trail Blazers as their head coach. Getty Images
“She left a lot of stuff — she got out of here quick because I had an order to throw her out.”
Federal prosecutors said Wei was among 31 individuals arrested in a massive backroom poker scheme connected to NBA figures Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones.
According to the federal indictment, the scheme allegedly began in 2019, featuring high-stakes games in the heart of NYC and drawing mobsters from the notorious Lucchese, Genovese, Gambino, and Bonanno families.
The scheme reportedly stretched beyond Manhattan, with high-stakes games also popping up in the Hamptons, Las Vegas, and Miami, prosecutors said.
Wei appeared in a 2019 photo at a poker table with Chauncey Billups, 49, and fellow pro poker player Saul Becher—another figure indicted in the case.
The alleged fraudster, wearing a gray World Series of Poker sweatshirt, her black hair tied in a ponytail and carrying a silver box, pleaded not guilty Thursday afternoon at her arraignment in Brooklyn federal court.
Released to home detention on $100,000 bail, she now has until Wednesday to secure two sureties to post the bond.
On her way out of the courtroom, Wei stayed silent, refusing to answer questions.
