Former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter is facing federal felony charges related to a sports betting scandal that led the NBA to ban him for life. Court documents indicate that federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have filed a criminal information sheet, but details about the charges are not specified in the document. The case is linked to an ongoing prosecution involving four individuals accused of exploiting tips from a player regarding his plans to leave games early.
Porter’s lawyer, Jeff Jensen, previously mentioned that Porter was struggling with a gambling addiction but was receiving treatment and cooperating with law enforcement. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn, led by Breon Peace, has not provided any comments on the recent developments.
An NBA investigation found that Porter informed bettors about his health status and then pretended to be ill to leave games early, leading to wins for those who bet on his underperformance. The four men charged alongside Porter are accused of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, with allegations that they used inside information from a player to place winning bets on his performance.
The court complaint identified the four men as Ammar Awawdeh, Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah, and Long Phi Pham, who allegedly used their knowledge of a player’s plans to profit from betting on his games. The player involved in the scheme was referred to as “Player 1,” matching details from the NBA’s investigation into Jontay Porter’s case.
The player reportedly owed significant gambling debts to one of the charged individuals, prompting him to manipulate game outcomes for betting purposes. Porter’s actions during games on January 26 and March 20 resulted in his points, rebounds, and assists falling below the expected performance level, benefiting those who had placed bets against him.
While some of the charged individuals profited from these bets, a betting company prevented one of them from collecting most of his over $1 million in winnings from the March 20 game. The player, aware of the investigation, mentioned the possibility of facing federal charges to the defendants and inquired about deleting potentially incriminating evidence from their phones.
It was noted in the court complaint that the player had engaged with authorities to seek leniency in sentencing if charged criminally, without specifying when these discussions took place. Porter, who earned a salary of around $410,000 this year, played in several games for the Toronto Raptors and the Memphis Grizzlies in recent seasons.
