Jontay Porter Pleads Guilty In Bet-Fixing SchemeBanned NBA Player Faces Years In Prison |
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The latest twist in the Jontay Porter NBA betting scandal played out on Wednesday with the former Toronto Raptors forward pleading guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Porter admitted in court that he was part of a betting scheme that involved limiting his playing time in games. That served to benefit bettors putting money on the 24-year-old’s player “under” prop wagers.
“I know what I did was wrong, unlawful, and I am deeply sorry,” he said in court.
In April, the NBA banned Porter for life following an investigation that found he shared confidential information to bettors, limited his participation in at least one game, and wagered on NBA games. The plea deal also now means he could now spend as much as 20 years in prison, although prosecutors estimated the judge in the case would hand him around three and a half to four years.
Porter is also expected to be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars in the case as well. The former player says he became involved in the scheme to “to get out from under large gambling debts.” He has since undergone therapy and e"ntered rehab for those with gambling problems":https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40534530/jontay-porter-pleads-guilty-case-tied-nba-betting-scandal.
“Jontay is a good young man with strong faith that will get him through this,” his attorney Jeff Jensen told ESPN last month.
Four other men have also been charged with conspiracy charges in relation to the case. Prosecutors allege the men pressured players to reduce their stats in a game to benefit the bettors, who would make large wagers on the game.
In the case involving Porter, court documents say that they planned to share with him a fourth of the profits from a game on March 20 in which he reduced his participation. One of those allegedly involved in the scheme is Long Phi Pham (also known as “Bruce”), of Brooklyn, New York.
Pham was arrested on June 3 after attempting to board a plane for Sydney, Australia. When taken into custody, he was holding $12,000 in cash, two cashier’s checks worth $80,000, and several betting slips. His bail was set at $750,000 and he faces up to 20 years in prison.
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