A Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty in a sports betting scheme that led to the premature end of Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter's NBA career. Mahmud Mollah entered his plea on Wednesday, becoming the third individual, including Porter, to acknowledge involvement in the scandal. The scheme involved Porter intentionally withdrawing early from games to allow informed gamblers to win bets predicting he would score fewer points than anticipated by sportsbooks.
In addition to Mollah, Long Phi Pham and Porter have also pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy charges. Two other individuals have been charged but have not yet entered pleas in the case.
Mollah, hailing from Lansdale, Pennsylvania, is scheduled for sentencing on May 2 in a federal court in Brooklyn. The potential penalties he faces range from no jail time to a maximum of 20 years in prison. Mollah's attorney declined to provide any comments following the plea hearing.
Porter's involvement in the scheme was evident when he played briefly and failed to score any points in games on January 26 and March 20 before removing himself from play, citing injury or illness as the reason.
According to court documents, Mollah utilized his knowledge of Porter's plans on March 20 to place bets that would have resulted in winnings exceeding $1 million, to be divided among the conspirators, with a significant portion earmarked for the player. However, a betting company grew suspicious and prevented Mollah from collecting most of the funds.
Following an investigation by the NBA, Porter was banned for life from the league. In a subsequent court appearance, Porter admitted to participating in the scheme as a means to alleviate substantial gambling debts. Porter is currently awaiting sentencing, scheduled for December 18.
