A self-proclaimed “poker shark” has been arrested for allegedly forcing former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter, who is banned for life from the NBA as part of a $1 million sports betting scandal, to leave a game early with a fake injury.
A federal judge found Long Pi Pham was attempting to flee when he tried to board a one-way ticket to Australia from John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday and set bail at $750,000 on the fraud charge.
“I believe he is attempting to flee the country to avoid prosecution,” Magistrate Judge Cheryl Pollack said during a hearing Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court. “I sit here today with very serious doubts that I may be making a huge mistake.”
Federal investigators allege that Pham, 38, was part of a crew that heavily owed Porter money before his performance underwent at least two games.
Instead of fleeing, Pham was actually heading to Sydney, Australia, to play in a poker tournament at the Star Casino, his lawyer, Michael Soshnick, said.
Pham describes himself as a poker player who is “among the top 1 percent of poker players in the world,” his lawyer told reporters afterward.
According to the Hendon Mob’s database of poker players worldwide: The only player from New York was Ron Pham. The tournament prize money is just $3,330 and he is ranked 287,829th in the world.
Soshnick would not comment when asked whether his client knew Jontay Porter personally.
Pham’s lawyer said he could be released as early as Thursday if bail can be posted with the help of relatives who have pledged two properties as collateral.
The judge said the defendant will be subject to home confinement and GPS monitoring.
The Brooklyn man is charged with wire fraud for allegedly conspiring with NBA veteran Porter, 24, to manipulate “under” bets based on Porter’s points and rebounds in games.
Porter faked an eye injury during a Jan. 26 game against the Los Angeles Clippers and left a game early against the Sacramento Kings on March 20 under the false excuse of “being sick” to ensure he would win “under” bets, court documents allege.
According to court documents, the crew made more than $1 million on illegal “under” bets, but some of the winnings were never collected because the gambling company deemed them suspicious.
Prosecutors said Wednesday that Pham had implicated his sister, Linh Pham, in the scheme. Benjamin Weintraub said Pham, who is now one of Pham’s bail bondsmen, bet $2,000 on Porter’s “under” in the March 20 game.
Linh Pham has not been charged with any crime, and it is unclear whether she knew her brother had inside information when she placed the bets. Weintraub said Long Phi Pham was using his relatives as “dummy bettors at best.”
Long Phai also planned to buy a Rolex watch worth $100,000 and send it to one of his sisters, but prosecutors called this a “cash transfer” in court and argued for him to be held without bail.
“To the government, this shows that the defendant has no concern about implicating his family in his illegal conduct,” Weintraub said in court.
A spokesman for Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District, declined to comment Wednesday on whether Porter himself was a target of the investigation. Authorities have said they are searching for at least three unidentified co-conspirators in the scheme.
Porter was making just over $410,000 in salary before he was banned for life.
At the NBA level, he averaged just 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 26 games this season, but he had more success in the lower-tier G League, averaging 16.1 points and 10.1 rebounds over three seasons.
