Jontay Porter, who was banned for life from the NBA for gambling, has pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme that led to his suspension.
Porter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and faces up to four years in prison.
In court on Wednesday, Porter said he agreed to withdraw from the match early to escape huge gambling debts and to allow him and his co-conspirators to win bets on his performance.
“I know what I did was wrong and illegal and I deeply regret it,” he said.
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Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter (No. 34) runs toward the basket during a game against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on March 13, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images)
According to court documents, the case against Porter is linked to ongoing prosecutions against four other men, who have been charged with wire fraud conspiracy but have not yet entered arraignments.
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 game on March 20th [Jontay] He disclosed confidential information about his health to individuals he knew to be NBA gamblers.”
“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 of the Toronto Raptors competes for a rebound with Lindy Waters III of the Oklahoma City Thunder during a 2023-2024 NBA regular season game between the Toronto Raptors and the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 22, 2024 in Toronto, Canada. (Zou Zheng/Xinhua 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 had found that Jontay “used an associate’s betting account to place at least 13 bets on NBA games” between January and March of this year 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, one of the four pressured players to withdraw from games early to pay off gambling debts so that bets on the players’ poor performances could pay off.
Since that scandal, the NBA has reportedly held meetings about how to combat new scandals, including banning “under” proposition bets from sportsbooks.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter (No. 34) 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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Sentencing is set for December 18. He could also be required to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, as well as fines.
One of Porter’s brothers, Coban, began serving a six-year sentence in April for drunk driving resulting in death, and another brother, Michael, is a center fielder for the Denver Nuggets.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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