Former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter has pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges for his role in a gambling scheme that led to his lifetime banishment from the NBA.
Porter pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a New York federal court and has been released on a $250,000 bond insured by his mom and spouse.
“I knew what I did was wrong and unlawful and I’m deeply sorry for my conduct,” Porter told Brooklyn Federal Judge James R. Cho during his arraignment on Wednesday.
Porter faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty with prosecutors recommending between 41 to 51 months of prison time. The 24-year-old, who is undergoing gambling counseling, is projected to pay $456,000 in fines and restitution.
His salary with the Raptors and their G-League affiliate for the 2023-24 season was $410,000. Porter has a sentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. 18. According to a criminal docket, Porter is facing forfeiture of “any property, real, or personal, constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of such offense.”
Porter may be paying restitution to the NBA for breaching his player contract.
Porter provides insider information
According to a criminal docket filed in the U.S. District Court for the East District of New York, Porter provided insider information to a group of co-conspirators to pay back significant gambling debts. The co-conspirators, who have also been charged for their role in the scheme, allegedly encouraged Porter to exit certain NBA games early to pay his debt.
The co-conspirators were Long Phi Pham, Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah and Ammar Awawdeh. On Jan 26., Porter notified Pham of his intention to exit a game against the Los Angeles Clippers early due to an injury. Porter’s notice led McCormack and a relative of Awawdeh to place parlay wagers on the “under” player prop market for Porter.
Porter exited the Clippers game early with limited minutes. McCormack placed a $7,00 parlay wager on several “under” prop markets for Porter while the relative of Awawdeh placed a similar $10,000 parlay bet. The bets won due to Porter’s early exit with McCormack netting a $33,250 profit and Awawdeh’s relative winning $75,000.
The former NBA forward also provided insider information for a March 20 game against the Sacramento Kings. Several days before the contest, Porter notified family and team officials of a now-phony battle with food poisoning. Porter would later give the co-conspirators notice of his “sickness” and plan to exit the March 20 game early.
In anticipation of the Kings game, Pham and the other co-conspirators allegedly met at an Atlantic City casino to place bets on Porter “under” props amid his plan to exit early.
The relative of Awawdeh allegedly transferred $65,000 to McCormack via PayPal ahead of the game before an attempt to transfer an additional $25,000 was blocked. Geolocation data records from the casino also show a $66,900 deposit by Mollah into a sportsbook account on March 20.
McCormack would later place a $8,000 parlay wager on a Porter “under” market while Mollah bet over $100,000. The former NBA forward would only play three minutes against the Kings. McCormack netted a $36,000 profit while Mollah won $1 million. However, the sportsbook flagged the bets as suspicious before either man could withdraw any winnings.
NBA opens Porter investigation
The bets placed by the co-conspirators on the online sportsbooks were flagged for suspicious activity, leading to a report to the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and the NBA. The report led to the NBA opening an investigation.
The NBA’s probe found detrimental conduct leading to Porter’s lifetime ban from the league.
“It’s cardinal sin what he’s accused of in the NBA and the ultimate extreme option I have is to ban him from the game,” said league commissioner Adam Silver following the probe.