A criminal investigation has been opened over the alleged involvement of former NBA Jontay Porter in a gambling scheme that included the delivery of insider information.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has launched an investigation into betting irregularities sparked by Porter during two NBA games that he played in 2024.
“The OPP Investigation and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) has completed their assessment of available information in relation to the reported online betting irregularities from the January 26 and March 20, 2024, Toronto Raptors games and have determined that a criminal investigation is warranted,” an OPP spokesman told SBC Americas.
Porter’s alleged involvement in scheme
According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the East District of New York, Porter allegedly “amassed significant gambling debts” to Long Phi Pham, Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah, and Ammar Awawdeh, who encouraged Porter to alleviate his debt by withdrawing from two NBA games on Jan. 26 and March 20.
Porter spent last season with the Toronto Raptors and G League affiliate Raptors 905.
Before the Jan. 26 contest in question, Porter allegedly notified the co-conspirators of his intention to leave the game against the Los Angeles Clippers early due to injury. In anticipation of Porter leaving the game early, the co-conspirators allegedly worked together to place wagers on the “under” player prop betting markets for Porter.
Porter would leave the Jan. 26 contest early due to a purported eye injury that he notified team officials of before the game. Porter would only play four minutes against the Clippers with McCormack winning the $7,000 parlay bet he placed, which netted $33,250.
A relative of Awawdeh placed a similar $10,000 bet, which resulted in a $75,000 profit.
On March 20, Porter would once again leave a game early. The Raptors faced the Sacramento Kings and several days before the contest Porter allegedly told family and team officials that he was suffering from food poisoning. Porter allegedly notified the co-conspirators that he would exit the March 20 game early due to his alleged sickness.
The co-conspirators allegedly met at a casino in Atlantic City to place bets ahead of the Kings game knowing Porter would leave the contest due to “illness.” Geolocation data and surveillance footage show the group betting more than $100,000 on Porter “under” props.
Porter would leave the March 20 game early leading McCormack to win $36,000 after placing a $8,000 parlay wager while Mollah collected over $1 million from his bets.
Other active Porter investigations
Mollah’s sportsbook account was subsequently suspended due to his wagers being flagged as suspicious by an unnamed operator. The bets were reported to the NBA and the International Betting Integrity Association with the NBA opening a probe of its own.
“The OPP IEB is aware of the ongoing criminal investigation being conducted by Federal authorities in the U.S.A. and will be connecting with them as our investigation moves forward. As this is an ongoing investigation, in order to protect the integrity of the investigation, no additional information is being provided,” added the OPP spokesman.
Pham, McCormack, Mollah, and Awawdeh have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the scheme and have been charged with conspiring to defraud a sports betting company.
