Two more men were charged Thursday in the sports betting scandal involving former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter.
Timothy McCormack and Mahmud Mollad join two other men - Long Phi Pham and a fourth whose name was not publicized - as defendants in a federal wire fraud case tied to wagers based on tips from Porter about his scheme to leave two games early so the under on his player props would hit.
Porter has not been officially named in connection with the case, but game dates and other details about the “Player 1” mentioned in the court documents match up with all the infractions that eventually got Porter banned for life from the NBA, according to the Associated Press.
The squad rides … to prison
McCormack’s and Mollad’s charges come just two days after Pham was arrested at JFK Airport.
Pham was apparently carrying bags filled with $12,000 cash and two cashiers checks worth $80,000, trying to sneak out of the country on a one-way ticket to Australia.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that “Player 1” aka Porter told Pham he would pull himself out of a Jan. 26 game against the Los Angeles Clippers to recoup significant gambling debts owed to one of the other conspirators.
Pham and Co. bet the under on Porter’s player props through a legal sportsbook, and cashed in for more than $100,000 total after Porter scored no points, made no 3-pointers or steals, recorded just one assist, and only grabbed three boards in four minutes before taking himself out of the game due to what he called a reaggravated eye injury.
The squad wasn’t done riding these fraudulent wagers though. The complaint also said that the player told the defendants that he would exit the March 20 game against the Sacramento Kings, saying he was sick. Porter player just under three minutes that day, finishing with no points or assists and two rebounds, again falling short of his player prop lines.
Mollah’s bets from that game netted more than $1.3 million, and Pham, the player, and the unnamed defendant were each supposed to get about a quarter of those winnings, and McCormack would get a 4% cut, too. McCormack also cleared more than $33,000 on a bet from the Jan. 26 game.
A betting company got suspicious about the March 20 winnings though, and blocked Mollah from collecting most of the money.
Problem gambling
Recent betting controversies in pro sports stem from a common trend: engaging in fraudulent improprieties to pay off massive debt. Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for MLB star Shohei Ohtani, allegedly owed more than $41 million to an illegal bookmaker in his own case.
According to the complaint filed in this case, “Player 1” amassed significant gambling debts by the beginning of 2024, and his attempt to manipulate his performance were in an effort to recoup those losses.
Allegedly, the unnamed defendant prodded Porter to clear his obligation by doing a “special,” which was their code for leaving certain games early to ensure the success of under bets.
“If I don’t do a special with your terms. Then it’s up. And u hate me and if I don’t get u 8k by Friday you’re coming to Toronto to beat me up,” read an encrypted message from the player to the unnamed defendant.
Once the NBA and other authorities began looking into the suspicious activity, Porter apparently warned Pham, Mollah, and the unnamed defendant via an encrypted messaging app that they “might just get hit w a rico,” or a common acronym for federal racketeering charges, and asked if they had deleted the evidence from their phones.
Lawyers for Mollah and Pham have declined comment to the Associated Press on the allegations, and that McCormack’s attorney declined to comment on whether his client knows Porter.
