A purported victim of a Texas jeweler linked to the NBA cheating ring says he and his poker buddies were scammed out of nearly $1 million in a single night — but that the fraudsters used an ex-NFL player, not a basketball star, as their front man.

The stunning claim could mean that the exploding NBA gambling scandal could be much bigger than prosecutors have thus far revealed, and might include stars in other sports.

“During the game, we were around a bunch of bad guys, and they were trying to suck every bit away from us. And they did. They did a good job, and I’m still shell-shocked to this day from that night,” a source, who did not want to be named, told The Post. 4

He said he was invited to the private, high-stakes poker game “with a really solid group of people. We would nev

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