
Former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of wire fraud stemming from a sports betting scheme that led to his lifetime banishment from the National Basketball Association.
Appearing in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., the 24-year-old replied “I knew what I did was wrong and unlawful and I’m deeply sorry for my conduct,” after entering his guilty plea. Porter’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 18. He was released on a $250,000 bond co-signed by his wife and mother.
Porter’s is the latest high-profile sports betting scandal to quake North American pro sports in the era of widely legal sports betting.
Jontay Porter Scandal Background:
Porter was not named as a suspect in the original complaint against his alleged accomplices. Last week, however, a court filing scheduled an arraignment and “plea agreement hearing” in a felony case. Ammar Awawdeh, Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah, and Long Phi Pham had already been arrested and charged with wire fraud.
Federal authorities asserted in charging documents that Porter owed “significant gambling debts” to one member of the group and agreed to conspire to alter the outcome of prop bets placed on his performance.
Sportsbooks tipped the NBA to suspicious wagering activity on two Raptors games in which Porter exited early. The league launched an investigation to determine that Porter had violated three of its gambling rules for players, including betting on and manipulating the outcome of NBA games and sharing confidential information with gamblers.
Porter was banned for life by the NBA on April 17.