A court document filed last month alleges that a Las Vegas man arrested in January for ties to the Jontay Porter betting scandal is the mastermind of the illegal operation.
Shane Hennen, who was apprehended by police at the airport before he could flee with nearly $10,000 in cash and a one-way ticket to Colombia, may also be behind a college basketball point-shaving scandal and a different NBA investigation, Sports Illustrated reported.
The document that lists Hennen as a defendant and filed by U.S. Attorney Carolyn Pokorny of the Eastern District of New York stated that Hennen’s proof of guilt is “overwhelming.”
Evidence, witnesses, phone records, financial records, and betting records “confirm that the defendant orchestrated and participated in numerous fraudulent wager schemes” that “resulted in potentially millions of dollars’ worth of illicit profits and money laundering transactions.”
Hennen has yet to be charged, but he’s part of a group of five co-conspirators who worked with Porter in an elaborate scheme. The former Toronto Raptor, who’s banned from the NBA, manipulated his playing time to pay back gambling debts. He informed a group of bettors that he would take himself out of two games, and they placed under bets on his player props.
The complaint alleges that Hennen, a convicted felon who’s also been charged with other gambling-related misdemeanors in the past, helped orchestrate the scheme and “used a network of proxies and straw bettors” to place fraudulent bets on Porter and launder the “illicit proceeds.”
It gets bigger
This is part of a much larger federal probe. According to SI’s sources, the game played by Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier when he was with the Charlotte Hornets in 2023 that’s being investigated is tied to Porter’s case. Rozier has not been charged criminally and was cleared by the NBA, but the league is cooperating with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
SI also reported that Hennen’s gambling ring is potentially linked to at least nine college basketball games between this and last season. At least five college teams have been flagged for unusual wagering activity with the potential of more.
Charges coming
Hennen has yet to be charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering because he’s working out a plea deal.
Porter pled guilty to his role in the scandal in July 2024 and awaits sentencing.
Three other co-conspirators – Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah, and Long Phi “Bruce” Pham – have also pled guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. Ammar Awawdeh has been indicted by a grand jury for wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery.
