Porter pleads guilty in betting scandal

NEW YORK (AFP) — Former basketball player Jontay Porter pleaded guilty Wednesday to a betting conspiracy that already saw him given a life ban from the National Basketball Association (NBA), costing him his position on the Toronto Raptors, New York prosecutors said.

“He pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and was released on a $250,000 bond co-signed by his wife and mother,” a spokesman for the Manhattan prosecutor’s office told AFP.

Porter will be sentenced on 18 December and faces between 41 and 51 months imprisonment, the spokesperson added.

Porter and several other defendants were accused of seeking to defraud an online sports betting company.

They bet on Porter’s playing time knowing in advance that he would exit the game early for health reasons, prosecutors said. The scam allowed the bettors to pocket more than $1 million.

Porter, the younger brother of Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr., was banned for life from the NBA in April after a league probe found he bet on games.

Porter was a largely anonymous figure in the NBA, playing just 37 games in 2020-2021 and 2023-2024 seasons.

Despite his low profile, Porter earned around $2 million during his time in the league with the Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto.