Former Mizzou hooper to face betting charges
NEW YORK (KCTV/AP) Jontay Porter, a former Missouri Tiger basketball star, will be charged with a federal felony in connection with a sports betting scandal that resulted in a lifetime suspension from the NBA, according to court documents obtained by the AP.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn submitted a criminal information document on Tuesday. According to the AP, the document does not identify a court date or charge(s) Porter would face, but it does state the case is tied to a case involving four persons accused with planning to profit from a player’s plans to quit numerous NBA games early.
Porter was suspended in April after a league investigation revealed that he shared private information with sports bettors and bet on games.
In an early June complaint, federal authorities stated that Porter had accumulated substantial gambling debts and was urged to pay them off by throwing games for bets to hit.
The Associated Press contacted Porter’s lawyer in St. Louis, Jeff Jensen, by phone and email on Wednesday. He stated last month that Porter was “in over his head due to a gambling addiction” but was receiving treatment and cooperated with police officials.
Ammar Awawdeh, Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah, and Long Phi Pham have all been charged with conspiracy to conduct wire fraud. In June, officials caught Pham, 38, as he attempted to take a one-way aircraft to Australia.
According to the Associated Press, the four men are accused of utilizing previous knowledge of Porter’s plans to place bets against his performance and profit from player props falling below their totals. The FBI lawsuit claims Porter owed “significant gambling debts” to Awawdeh, who pushed him to address the financial issue with a “special.”
Porter texted in an encrypted message earlier this year, “If I don’t do a special with your terms then it’s up,” according to the lawsuit. “You despise me, and if
Porter informed Pham and another defendant that he intended to leave a Jan. 26 game early, citing injury. Porter played 4 minutes and 24 seconds before leaving the game against the Los Angeles Clippers, citing an eye ailment that had previously been disclosed but was not on the Raptors’ pregame injury report.
Porter finished the game with three rebounds, one assist, and no attempted three-pointers, leading every under prop to a hit.
ESPN reported in March that on Jan. 27, DraftKings claimed under on Porter’s 3-pointers, which proved to be the greatest gain for bettors of any NBA player prop from games on January 26. According to the lawsuit, one accused conspirator made $33,250, while another’s relative received $75,000 off Porter’s income.
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