Fourth man arrested in NBA betting scandal involving Jontay Porter

A fourth man was arrested Friday, June 7, in connection with the sports betting controversy that led to the expulsion from the NBA of Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter.

Ammar Awawdeh, 32, turned himself in to authorities after three other people were arrested early last week. A legal complaint alleges that Awawdeh forced an NBA player, referred to as “Player 1,” to pay off his gambling debts by leaving games early. The strategy, described as “special” by the duo, was designed to guarantee wins for players who bet on his underperformance in these matches.

According to a court complaint, Awawdeh wrote on the encrypted messaging app Telegram earlier this year that he was “forcing” the player to do it and told him: “Screenshot of this.”

What happened in the NBA betting scandal?

Porter was “overwhelmed” by his gambling addiction, his lawyer said, as reported by ESPN and the Associated Press. “Jontay is a good young man with strong faith that will get him through this. He was overwhelmed by his gambling addiction. He is in treatment and has cooperated fully with law enforcement,” said St. Louis government investigations attorney Jeff Jensen.

Awawdeh was arraigned and released on US$100,000 bail and placed under house arrest with ankle monitoring. His lawyer, Alan Gerson, declined to comment on the allegations.

Although Porter has not been formally charged or named in the legal complaint, the details surrounding “Player 1” are similar to those of an NBA investigation that resulted in his indefinite suspension in April. The NBA discovered that Porter had bet on NBA games he did not participate in and deliberately withdrew from at least one game, allowing one bet to generate more than $1 million for one bettor having prior knowledge.

According to the complaint, Awawdeh, along with his co-defendants Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah and Long Phi Pham, exploited inside knowledge of Player 1's intentions to make profitable bets on his performance during the January 26 and March 20 matches. .

The complaint also says a betting company blocked Mollah from claiming most of his winnings in excess of $1 million from the March 20 match.

The defendants, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, have not yet entered pleas. Lawyers for the defendants generally held back on their comments, with the exception of McCormack's attorney, Jeffrey Chartier, who said “no case is a decisive victory.”

Featured image: Ideogram