Court filings indicate that banned NBA player Jontay Porter will face federal charges in connection with a gambling issue.
Court records indicate that federal prosecutors are planning to arrest banned NBA player Jontay Porter for an alleged sports betting scheme.
The court papers do not disclose Porter’s felony accusations. John Marzulli, a spokeswoman for the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, said on Wednesday that the case was linked to the recent arrest of four men.
In April, the NBA banned a Toronto Raptors player for breaking gambling regulations. Jeff Jensen, Porter’s attorney, did not immediately reply to a request for comment Wednesday.
Long Phi Pham, a Brooklyn resident, was charged in June with conspiring with three individuals to defraud a sports betting organization by placing wagers on a banned NBA player, according to a federal complaint.
Authorities have detained a Brooklyn man in connection with an unlawful betting scam involving former NBA player Jontay Porter.
Prosecutors allege that Pham participated in a plot to place “under prop” bets on Porter, who was identified by CNN at the time, in games on January 26 and March 20. According to court records, Pham and the others were aware that the player would withdraw from games early, claiming illness or injury, in order for the bettors to profit.
According to court documents, Porter’s criminal case is linked to Pham’s, as well as cases against Ammar Awawdeh, Timothy McCormack, and Mahmud Mollah. The latter three were not previously identified in the federal complaint. All four defendants waived their preliminary hearings, according to court documents.
CNN has contacted out to the attorneys for Pham, Awawdeh, and Mollah for comment. There was no counsel listed as representing McCormack in court papers. Porter, 24, spent portions of two NBA seasons, averaging 3.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 37 games.