Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have filed a criminal information sheet against Jontay Porter, potentially leading to federal felony charges linked to the sports betting scandal that got him banned from the NBA. The charges and court date are unspecified, but the case is connected to four men already prosecuted in the scandal. Canadian authorities have also opened a separate investigation.
Porter’s lawyer, Jeff Jensen, stated Porter’s gambling addiction led to his involvement. Porter, undrafted and less successful than his brother Michael Porter Jr., played 37 NBA games with career earnings around $2.8 million.
Court documents allege Porter owed significant gambling debts to Ammar Awawdeh and compromised his performance in games to benefit the conspirators.
Awawdeh, Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah, and Long Phi Pham face conspiracy charges but have not entered pleas.
A Life Ban For Porter
Porter wasn’t on the road to NBA stardom before this betting scandal. His brother Michael Porter Jr. was a 2018 first-round draft pick of the Denver Nuggets and won the 2023 NBA championship. Porter Jr. signed a five-year, $179.3 million rookie max deal ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Jontay, on the other hand, went undrafted and played only 37 regular-season games between the Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors, on pace to end the 2023-24 season with career earnings of around $2.8 million.
Court documents reveal that Porter owed sizable gambling debts to Awawdeh and agreed to compromise his performance in games so that the conspirators could bet on the unders for his player props. Awawdeh, McCormack, Mollah, and Pham were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud but have yet to enter pleas.
