BROOKLYN (KCTV) – Former Mizzou forward Jontay Porter had racked up large gambling debts and was encouraged to clear them by throwing games in order for bets to hit, federal prosecutors said in a complaint released Tuesday.
On the day a New York man was charged in a sports betting scandal that led to Porter being banned from the NBA for life, Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said the alleged co-conspirators and “Player 1″ — a Toronto Raptors forward deduced to be Porter without being identified in the complaint — participated “in a brazen, illegal betting scheme that had a corrupting influence on two games and numerous bets,” the Associated Press reported.
Long Phi Pham, a 38-year-old man from Brooklyn, was detained by authorities Tuesday while attempting to board a flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Australia on a one-way ticket, the New York Post reported.
The complaint says the player communicated directly with Pham and alleged co-defendants whose names are redacted. It also said that Porter warned Pham and others via an encrypted messaging app on April 4 that they “might just get hit w a rico” — referencing an acronym for a federal racketeering charge — and asked whether they deleted “all the stuff” from their phones.
Porter owed “significant gambling debts” to at least one of the alleged conspirators and was encouraged to settle them by strategically exiting games so that bettors who knew he would perform poorly could bet his player prop unders.
READ MORE: NBA bans former Mizzou forward Jontay Porter after gambling probe shows he shared information, bet on games
According to the complaint, Porter told Pham and another defendant that he was planning to take himself out of a Jan. 26 games early, claiming injury. In that game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Porter played 4 minutes and 24 seconds before saying he’d aggravated an eye problem that was previously reported but not on the pregame injured list.
Porter ended the game with three rebounds, one assist and no attempted 3-pointers, leading every under prop of his to hit. In March, ESPN reported that on Jan. 27 DraftKings reported that unders on Porter’s 3-pointers wound up being the biggest winner for bettors of any NBA player props from games on Jan. 26. The complaint said one alleged conspirator made $33,250 and another’s relative made $75,000 on Porter’s poor — or lack of — play.
Two days later, the former Mizzou star played 19 minutes and scored 12 points, grabbing seven rebounds and tallying three assists.
In March, the complaint said Porter told Pham and at least one other conspirator that he would exit a March 20 game with an illness. It said Porter agreed with the conspirators that he would get nearly a quarter of the wagering wins as well.
READ MORE: Former Mizzou forward subject of NBA investigation into betting irregularities
That day, Porter played 2 minutes and 43 seconds against the Sacramento Kings, exiting with no points or assists and 2 rebounds, all falling short of his betting lines. Some of the defendants the claim said made a combined total of more than $1 million on their Porter under bets, but one bettor was blocked from pocketing the money after a betting company flagged the bet as suspicious.
In April, Porter was banned by the NBA after a league investigation revealed that he disclosed confidential information about his health to a sports bettor and used someone else’s account to bet on games he didn’t play in. At one point, Porter unsuccessfully bet against his own team, according to the NBA.
“There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment,” league Commissioner Adam Silver said in April in a news release that is quoted throughout the complaint.
The AP said the NBA said it was sharing its findings with federal prosecutors. Brooklyn federal prosecutors declined to comment to the AP on whether Porter is under investigation.
Porter’s salary for the 2023-24 season was around $410,000. The 24-year-old averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 26 games for the Toronto Raptors. His brother, Michael Porter Jr., plays for the Denver Nuggets.
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