Less than a week after pleading guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, Jontay Porter asked a federal judge if he could move to Greece to continue playing basketball.
Porter’s NBA career ended on April 17 when he was banned for life for sports betting offenses that stemmed from a conspiracy that led to him being indicted on federal charges.
According to a court filing on Tuesday, lawyers asked for the terms of Porter’s release to be modified to allow him to play for Promiseas BC in Greece.
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Jontay Porter of the Toronto Raptors during a game against the Boston Celtics at Scotiabank Arena on January 15, 2024 in Toronto. (Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images)
Porter told the court last week that he agreed to withdraw early from the match to escape huge gambling debts and to allow his co-conspirators to win bets on his performance.
Porter was banned for life on April 17 after an NBA investigation found he had provided confidential information to participants in sports betting and bet on games in violation of league rules. The NBA prohibits players from betting on the league or its properties.
The league concluded that the investigation ” [Toronto] Raptors‘ The match on March 20th, [Jontay] He leaked confidential information about his health to someone he knew was an NBA gambler.
“Another individual with ties to Porter and known NBA bettor subsequently placed an $80,000 parlay proposition bet at an online sportsbook and won $1.1 million. [Porter] The match on March 20 will be a disappointment.”
Jontay Porter (34) of the Toronto Raptors drives to the basket during a game against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on March 13, 2024 in Detroit. (Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images)
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He played just three minutes in the March 20 game due to illness, and $80,000 in bets was frozen and not paid out.
The NBA said in a statement that it found that Jontay “used an associate’s betting account to place at least 13 bets on NBA games” between January and March while he was a member of the Raptors or their G-League team, Raptors 905.
Porter’s lawyer, Jeff Jensen, said last month that Porter had a “gambling problem that was out of control” but that he was receiving treatment and cooperating with police.
According to the league, Porter has gambled on NBA games he was not playing in, even once placing a bet against his own team.
According to the lawsuit, Porter was pressured to withdraw from games and pay off gambling debts so that bettors on his poor performance could make a profit.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter warms up before a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on March 9, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
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Since that scandal, the NBA has reportedly held meetings about how to combat new scandals, including banning “under” proposition bets from sportsbooks.
Porter’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 18. He will also likely be ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution and fines.
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