Former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter is facing federal charges related to an alleged sports gambling operation that has already resulted in charges for four other individuals. The charges, filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Easter District of New York in Brooklyn, are felony charges confirmed by a spokesperson for the United States Office of the Eastern District of New York. The Department of Justice has brought a case against him, as indicated in a federal court filing made on Tuesday, but no arrest warrant has been issued yet.
Last month, four men were charged with conspiracy to defraud a sports betting company, and Porter was identified as Player 1 in the criminal complaint detailing the alleged scheme that involved them. The NBA banned Porter in April for his involvement in the betting scandal, accusing him of intentionally manipulating his performance in games to allow others to profit from bets placed on the outcomes of specific prop bets involving him. Porter was also found to have placed bets on NBA games himself.
According to the complaint, Porter had accumulated significant gambling debts and saw an opportunity to clear them by assisting others in winning bets placed on him. He informed one of the defendants that he would fake an injury during the Jan. 26 game after sustaining an eye injury in the Raptors’ previous game. Porter played only four minutes in that game. Similarly, he informed the group chat that he would leave the March 20 game early due to illness and played just three minutes in that game against the Sacramento Kings. The bettors were able to win over $1 million on prop bets involving Porter, including an $80,000 parlay that resulted in a $1.1 million win.