Banned Toronto Raptors Player Jontay Porter to Face Federal Charges in Betting Scandal
Former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter is set to be charged with a federal felony related to a sports betting scandal that led to his lifetime NBA ban, as indicated by court documents. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn filed a criminal information sheet on Tuesday, which, while not specifying a court date or charges, ties Porter to an ongoing case against four men accused of exploiting insider tips for betting.
Porter’s lawyer, Jeff Jensen, acknowledged Porter’s struggle with a gambling addiction and mentioned that Porter is receiving treatment and cooperating with authorities. The Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s office has not commented on these recent developments.
An NBA investigation in April revealed that Porter had informed bettors about his health status and then exited games early due to alleged illness, allowing bets on his underperformance to succeed. Additionally, Porter bet on NBA games he didn’t play in, including betting against his own team.
The four men charged—Ammar Awawdeh, Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah, and Long Phi Pham—are accused of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and have been released on various bond amounts. They allegedly used insider information from Porter to place winning bets.
The complaint indicates that Porter, facing significant gambling debts to Awawdeh, agreed to exit games early to help settle his debts. In encrypted messages, Porter expressed desperation, stating that failure to comply would result in physical threats.
The player informed the defendants he would leave games early on January 26 and March 20, resulting in his underperformance in those games. Despite this, a betting company prevented Mollah from collecting over $1 million in winnings from the March 20 game.
As investigations continued, Porter expressed concerns about potential federal racketeering charges and advised the defendants to delete incriminating evidence from their phones.
Porter, whose salary was around $410,000 this year, averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 26 games this season, including five starts. He previously played 11 games for the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2020-21 season.
