Suspended NBA player Jontay Porter admitted to tipping off gamblers in the $1 million scheme that resulted in his lifetime ban from the league.
The 24-year-old former Toronto Raptors forward pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and must pay nearly $500,000 in fines and restitution.
Porter claims he placed bets and conspired with others “to get out of his gambling debts.”
As he said Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court before Judge James R. Cho: “I know what I did was wrong and illegal, and I am deeply sorry.”
Prosecutors have recommended a stiff sentence of between 41 and 51 months in prison. Porter is currently out on $250,000 bail, which has been secured by his family. Porter must also attend an anti-gambling therapy program.
Porter admitted tipping off players in the million-dollar scheme that led to a lifelong scam.
Court documents show the case against Porter is related to an ongoing case against four other men. All four have been indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, but have not yet entered a plea.
The men are accused of conspiring to profit from tips given to them by an NBA player that he would retire two games early. They or their relatives used that knowledge to place large bets that the player would perform poorly in those games, according to a court complaint filed when they were charged in June.
The complaint did not name the player, but it did say he had spoken to investigators in hopes of reaching a plea deal and a sentence “should he be criminally charged.”
According to the complaint, one of the four men pressured the player to settle his gambling debts by retiring from gambling early so that bets on his poor performance would pay off.
In a message in response to the man’s instructions, the player wrote that if he did not carry out the plan, “you hate me and if I don’t get you $8,000 by Friday you will come to Toronto to beat the shit out of me.”
After notifying some of the men, the player claimed injury or illness and withdrew from the Jan. 26 and March 20 games after only a few minutes on the court, according to the complaint.
Porter played only briefly on those dates before complaining of injury or illness and leaving the games. His points, rebounds and assists in both games were below bookmakers’ expectations.
Silver said Porter’s ‘flagrant violations of our rules of the game’ required a lifetime ban
After the NBA and other agencies began investigating, the player texted some of the men telling them they “might get hit wa rico,” an apparent reference to the common acronym for a federal racketeering charge, according to the complaint against them. It said the player also asked the men if they had deleted “all the material” from their phones.
The NBA investigation found that Porter not only left at least one game for the sake of bettors, but also bet on NBA games he did not play in. He once bet against his own team, according to the league.
Porter averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 26 games this season, including five starts. He also played in 11 games for the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2020-21 season.
The brother of Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr., Jontay’s NBA salary was approximately $410,000.
