The case against Jontay Porter just went to the next level.
On Wednesday afternoon, AP reported that federal prosecutors in Brooklyn filed what’s known as a criminal information sheet Tuesday, which could ultimately lead to Porter being charged with a federal felony connected to the sports betting scandal that got him kicked out of the NBA forever.
The court documents do not specify the charges or a court date, but this action shows the case is related to the existing prosecution of the four men involved in the betting scandal with Porter. At least one federal charge is imminent, while Canadian authorities have opened a separate criminal investigation into the scandal.
AP also noted that Porter’s lawyer, Jeff Jensen, mentioned that his client had been “in over his head due to a gambling addiction” that led to this whole mess, but that he was getting treatment and cooperating with law enforcement.
Banned for life
Porter wasn’t exactly on the road to NBA stardom before this betting scandal derailed his career.
His brother Michael Porter Jr. was a 2018 first-round draft pick of the Denver Nuggets and won the 2023 NBA championship with Denver last year. "MPJ" is in the middle of a 5-year, $179.3 rookie max deal that he signed ahead of the 2021-22 season. You could say that he’s speeding down the road to NBA stardom.
Jontay, on the other hand, went undrafted and only saw action in 37 regular season games between stints with the Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors since making his professional debut in the 2020-21 season. He was on pace to end the 2023-24 season with career earnings of around $2.8 million.
According to a court complaint against the four men involved in this case — Ammar Awawdeh, Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah, and Long Phi Pham — Porter owed Awawdeh sizable gambling debts, and would compromise his own performance in two games so that the four conspirators could hammer the under on his player props and come out on top.
Those four men were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, but have yet to enter pleas in their case.
