Jontay Porter Owed Gambling Debts to Creditors, Feds Say

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

• New details emerge on banned-NBA player Jontay Porter’s sports betting scandal
• U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York revealed Porter amassed large gambling debts
• An individual who encouraged Porter to leave games early so he could clear his debts has been arrested

Former Toronto Raptors backup center and banned-NBA athlete Jontay Porter had amassed large gambling debts and was leaving games early to help clear those dues, according to the federal government.

The United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York yesterday revealed a Brooklyn man was arrested for conspiring with others to defraud a sports betting company by placing “under prop” bets on Porter during NBA games on Jan. 26, 2024, and March 20, 2024.

The individual, Long Phi Pham, also known as “Bruce,” encouraged Porter to leave games early so he could clear his debts and ensure certain under prop bets on his performance would hit for Pham’s co-conspirators.

Porter Pressured to Leave Games Early

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Pham was arrested on Monday, June 3, and has been ordered detained pending a trial. Three co-conspirators charged in the scheme still remain at large.

If convicted of wire fraud, Pham faces up to 20 years in prison.

“Whether on the court or in the casino, every point matters. As alleged, the defendant and his co-conspirators, as well as an NBA player, participated in a brazen, illegal betting scheme that had a corrupting influence on two games and numerous bets,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. “This prosecution serves as a warning that fraud and dishonesty in professional sports will not be tolerated and those who engage in this flagrant flouting of the law will be prosecuted.”

According to the complain, Pham and his co-conspirators placed “under prop” bets on Porter’s performance in two NBA games, knowing in advance he would withdraw from those games for health reasons.

Pham reportedly pressured Porter to remove himself from two NBA games to erase his large gambling debts. Porter informed Pham he would be leaving the Jan. 26 and March 20 games early, and Pham’s co-conspirators placed a number of “under” bets on his performance.

For example, a relative of a co-conspirator placed a $10,000 parlay bet on Porter’s “under” for three pointers, assists, and steals. The bet was successful and the relative won $85,000.

Porter was allegedly nervous about the scheme, telling Pham and co-conspirators in a group chat on April 4, 2024, that they “might just get hit w a rico,” referring to a racketeering charge, and asked if the group chat participants had “delete[d] all the stuff” from their personal cell phones.

Porter Banned from the NBA

The NBA announced in April the decision to ban Porter after an investigation found the backup forward/center provided a sports bettor with confidential information, limited his participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and bet on several NBA games.

Porter was found to have bet against the Raptors in a parlay while he traveled, but did not play, with the team earlier this year.

According to the finding’s of the NBA investigation, Porter placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using an associate’s online sports betting account. The bets ranged from $15 to $22,000, with Porter betting a total of $54,094 on the NBA. The total payout from the bets was $76,059, netting Porter $21,965.

The NBA bets were placed from January through March 2024 while Porter traveled with the Raptor or Raptors 905, Toronto’s G-League affiliate. Porter was found to have placed three multi-game parlay bets during that time period, one of which included a Raptors game in which he bet they would lose. He did not play in the Raptors game he bet on.

The NBA became aware of suspicious betting activity surrounding Porter and his participation in a March 20 Toronto Raptors game against the Sacramento Kings. A sports bettor placed an $80,000 parlay proposition bet with an online sportsbook that included an under for Porter. Due to the unusual betting activity, the proposition bet was frozen and not paid out, which would have won $1.1 million.

The bets were brought to the NBA’s attention by licensed sports betting operators and an organization the monitors legal betting markets.

The NBA’s investigation also found that Porter limited his participation in the matchup, playing only three minutes in the contest after claiming he felt ill. It also found that prior to the game he disclosed confidential information about his health state to an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor. He disclosed the information to another NBA bettor, who placed the $80,000 proposition bet in question.

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