According to ESPN, former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, who was banned for life by the NBA for sports betting and purposefully getting himself pulled from games to gain money from betting, is likely to face a federal criminal charge in New York.On Tuesday, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn filed a criminal information sheet (CIF). The document does not give a court date or the charge or charges, but it does indicate that the case is tied to an ongoing prosecution of four persons accused of conspiring to profit from a player’s plans to abandon two games early.”
Porter had joked in his chats with other conspirators about being ‘struck with a RICO charge,’ which appears to be becoming a more real consequence. While a federal felony accusation is not as broad as a RICO indictment, which pertains primarily to organized crime groups, Porter could face at least five years in jail if convicted.
After the NBA became aware of unusual betting behavior on major sportsbook platforms, it launched an investigation into Porter’s betting. It began with a game in February 2024, when Porter and Long Phi Pham, one of the co-conspirators, placed a $10,000 parlay prop bet on Porter’s underperformance in important stats after feigning an eye ailment to exit early. Their thorough investigation discovered that Porter went on to divulge more secret information about his health to the conspirators before to a March game against the Sacramento Kings, allowing a third party to place a $80,000 parlay bet on his unders and win $1.1 million. Porter informed co-conspirator Long Phi Pham and others that he would leave the game early due to sickness.The league discovered Porter’s history of gambling on NBA games, which included placing 13 bets totaling $54,000 between January and March 2024. Porter placed wagers on several NBA games, with a total payout of $76,059.with a net win of $21,965. Three of these wagers were multi-game parlays in which he gambled against the Raptors in a game he wasn’t playing in.
Porter placed wagers ranging from $15 to $22,000 as the former NBA player regularly violated the league’s strict anti-gambling laws, bringing a negative spotlight on the league, his teammates and coaches. He also put his brother, Denver Nuggets player Michael Porter Jr., at danger with his activities.
Jontay is the league’s first current player to be booted for gambling since 1954, and he will almost certainly have to find a means to avoid going to prison for his acts.
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