N.Y. man seemingly tied to Jontay Porter betting scheme is arrested

Porter, who played for the Toronto Raptors, was found by the NBA to have “violated league rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games.”

On Tuesday, the U.S. attorney’s office announced that Brooklyn resident Long Phi Pham, also known as “Bruce,” was being charged with wire fraud conspiracy. Pham, 38, was said to have been apprehended the day before at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Australia he had booked as a one-way trip.

In addition to coordinating with Player 1, Pham was said to have been working in conjunction with three co-conspirators who were also charged but remain at large. Their names were redacted from the charging document.

“Whether on the court or in the casino, every point matters. As alleged, the defendant and his co-conspirators, as well as an NBA player, participated in a brazen, illegal betting scheme that had a corrupting influence on two games and numerous bets,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “This prosecution serves as a warning that fraud and dishonesty in professional sports will not be tolerated and those who engage in this flagrant flouting of the law will be prosecuted.”

According to the charging document, Player 1 had amassed “significant gambling debts” to one of the co-conspirators. That person then encouraged the player to “clear those debts,” per authorities, by leaving games early to ensure his statistics stayed below the levels set by prop bets at gambling companies affiliated with the NBA.

That arrangement was described as a “special.” Tuesday’s court filing alleged Player 1 used messaging app Telegram to tell a co-conspirator: “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.”

Player 1 was then said to have used Telegram to tell Pham and the three others that he would be removing himself early from the Jan. 26 and March 20 contests. In Raptors games on those dates, Porter cited minor ailments in leaving after just a few minutes of action and minor dents in the box score.

For the Jan. 26 game, some of the co-conspirators’ winnings were described as $85,000, off a $10,000 bet placed by a relative of one of them, and $40,250 off a $7,000 wager. In each case, per federal prosecutors, the bets were parlays based on taking the under in categories for Player 1′s performance such as three-pointers and assists.

Before the game in March, Player 1 was said to have arrived at an agreement with the group via Telegram in which he, Pham and one of the co-conspirators would each get approximately 24 percent of the winnings.

“After playing just three minutes and recording zero points, three rebounds and zero assists, Player 1 removed himself from the March 20 Game, complaining he felt ill,” the charging document stated. “Several bettors, including the co-conspirators, who wagered the under on prop bets related to Player 1’s performance won those bets.”

“In total,” authorities alleged, “the defendant and his co-conspirators netted over $1 million in profits.”

The betting companies were said to have spotted suspicious activity regarding prop bets in those games and reported it to the NBA and to the International Betting Integrity Association, which in turn alerted the FBI.

On April 4, per prosecutors, Player 1 wrote in a group chat with the co-conspirators that they “might just get hit [with] a rico,” seemingly referring to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Player 1 was said to have asked if everyone had “delete[d] all the stuff” from their cellphones.

One day after federal agents attempted to question a co-conspirator May 30, according to the court filing, Pham booked his one-way ticket to Australia. Among the items said to have been in his possession when apprehended at the airport were “$12,000 in cash; two cashier’s checks totaling $80,000; a series of betting slips; and three cellular phones.”

Pham, who was said to have been detained pending trial, could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of wire fraud.

Prosecutors did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment on whether “Player 1” is also under consideration for possible federal charges related to the case.

Porter, 24, is a younger brother of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. who went undrafted in 2019 out of Missouri before spending time with the Memphis Grizzlies and in the NBA G League. When the NBA issued its ban in April, Commissioner Adam Silver said Porter’s “blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment.”

“While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity,” Silver added at the time, “this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place, including the types of bets offered on our games and players. Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game.”

Elsewhere Tuesday, San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano became the first person since Pete Rose in 1989 to be declared permanently ineligible by Major League Baseball for betting on baseball. Four other players received one-year bans.