Former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter is set to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with an alleged sports betting scandal in which four others have already been indicted. He is scheduled to plead guilty on July 10, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Porter faces felony charges from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York confirmed the felony charges. He will be a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice, according to documents filed Tuesday in federal court. An arrest warrant has not yet been issued, according to the documents.
Four men were indicted last month on charges of conspiring to defraud sports betting companies. Porter was not named as a defendant but was identified as Player 1 in a criminal complaint detailing their scheme.
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Man indicted in NBA gambling scandal linked to Jontay Porter
The NBA suspended Porter in April for his involvement in a gambling scandal. The league and federal government alleged that Porter intentionally interfered with play to help others make money when he placed under-the-ball prop bets involving himself on games on Jan. 26 and March 20. The league said Porter also bet on NBA games.
According to the lawsuit, Porter had significant gambling debts and was trying to pay them off by helping people win bets. He had injured his eye in the Raptors’ previous game and told one defendant that he would not play in the Jan. 26 game because of the injury. He played just four minutes that night.
Porter also announced in the group chat that he would leave the game early on March 20 due to illness, but ended up playing just three minutes against the Sacramento Kings.
According to the federal complaint, bettors won more than $1 million on Porter’s prop bets, including an $80,000 parlay that won $1.1 million.
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(Photo: John E. Sokolowski/USA Today)