Porter to face federal charge in betting scandal

NEW YORK — Former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter will be charged with a federal felony connected to the sports betting scandal that spurred the NBA to ban him, court papers indicate.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn filed what’s known as a criminal information sheet Tuesday. The document doesn’t specify a court date or the charge or charges, but it does show the case is related to an existing prosecution of four men charged with scheming to cash in on tips from a player about his plans to exit two games early.

Porter’s lawyer, Jeff Jensen, said last month that Porter had been “in over his head due to a gambling addiction” but was getting treatment and cooperating with law enforcement.

Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace’s office declined to comment on the new developments.

An NBA investigation found in April that Porter tipped off bettors about his health and then claimed illness to exit at least one game, creating wins for anyone who had bet on him to underperform expectations. Porter also gambled on NBA games in which he didn’t play, once betting against his own team, the league said.

The four men charged last month appeared in court but haven’t yet entered pleas. They’re charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

A court complaint accused the four — Ammar Awawdeh, Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah and Long Phi Pham — with using prior knowledge of an NBA player’s plans so that they or their relatives could place lucrative bets on his performance in Jan. 26 and March 20 games.

The complaint identified the athlete only as “Player 1,” but details — and even a quote from an NBA news release — matched up with the league’s probe into Porter.

Porter played only briefly on Jan. 26 and March 20 before leaving the court, complaining of injury or illness.