Report: Canadian authorities initiate criminal investigation into Jontay Porter over betting scandal

There is no way to sugarcoat the situation in which the Raptors’ disgraced player finds himself. Not only has he been banished from the NBA, but by all accounts, his troubles are only just beginning now that Canadian authorities have gotten involved.

Jontay Porter is in trouble

According to reports, Canadian authorities have begun a criminal investigation into former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter. The 24-year-old was of course involved in a betting scam that saw him banned for life by the NBA. As per reports, the Ontario Provincial Police’s Investigation and Enforcement Bureau opened an investigation reviewing the “online betting irregularities from the Jan. 26 and March 20 Raptors games.”

Regarding the NBA’s initial investigation, it was determined that Porter intentionally limited his minutes in a game against the Sacramento Kings on March 20th, in order to influence the result of multiple bets on his performance. Porter also withdrew from a contest with the Brooklyn Nets after just three minutes on the court, claiming that he was ill at the time. It is understood that Porter also disclosed confidential information about his health to “an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor.”

It doesn’t stop there either, as it was also discovered that the agreement between Porter and others was such that he was due to earn 24% of the expected profits. To be clear, more than $1 million was made off of the various bets meaning Porter pocketed almost $300,000 for his effort, or lack thereof. It’s also worth mentioning that just earlier this month, several individuals were detained in connection with the scandal. They include 32-year-old Ammar Awawdeh who turned himself in to authorities earlier this month, as well as Long Phi Pham, nicknamed “Bruce,” who was detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight bound for Australia with a one-way ticket. Reports indicate that he had a total of $12,000 cash on his person as well as two cashier’s checks valued at $80,000, betting slips, and three cell phones.

Yet, it would be remiss to ignore the other side of all of this i.e., Jontay Porter had a gambling problem. Indeed, it was something that led him to risk his career and now possibly his very freedom. To that end, we can only hope that the words of his attorney, Jeff Jensen, hold true. “Jontay is a good young man with strong faith that will get him through this. He was in over his head due to a gambling addiction,” read a statement last week from Jensen. “He is undergoing treatment and has been fully cooperative with law enforcement.” According to authorities in Ontario, they will be working with U.S. federal investigators as the investigation continues. To date, there have been no criminal charges filed against Jontay Porter.