Former professional poker player Long Phi Pham, who conspired with ex-NBA player Jontay Porter and two others in a sports betting scam, on Wednesday (2 October) agreed to plead guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Pham appeared in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He was released on a bond of $750,000 (£571,450/ €680,062) and will be sentenced 25 April 2025. Pham, Jontay Porter and two others were set to win more than $1m total after the Toronto Raptors player agreed to remove himself early from two games earlier this year. But DraftKings flagged the outsized player-prop bets, and an investigation ensued.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver in April banned Porter for life. Three months later, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in July and is awaiting sentencing. Federal prosecutors recommended a sentence of 41-51 months in jail. Porter was released on $250,000 bond and his sentencing is set for 18 December.
Porter’s brother, Michael Porter Jr, is a small forward with the Denver Nuggets. Both played college basketball at Missouri from 2017-2018. They had plans to enter the NBA draft together, but Jontay Porter decided to stay another year. However, he tore his ACL and MCL in a scrimmage and did not play that season. He wasn’t drafted in 2019 and signed with the Memphis Grizzlies as a rookie free agent.
Pham was headed to Australia
Of the four men involved in the scandal, Pham is the only one who tried to flee. He was apprehended at New York’s JFK airport after booking a one-way ticket to Australia in June. At the time, Pham was reportedly carrying about $92,000 in cash and cashier’s cheques, three cell phones and betting slips, according to court documents.
According to a federal affidavit filed in June, Jontay Porter agreed to leave Raptor games on 26 January and 20 March early, ensuring that his co-conspirators won their bets. Porter was in debt to the men, who made their bets with legal sportsbooks.
The power forward admitted to placing bets and exiting games early in court in June. In addition, he told Judge James R Cho that he did those things “in order to get out from under gambling debt”.
