The US Attorney’s Office for the US District Court of the Eastern District of New York, announced on Friday, 7 June, that the last and fourth suspect of the NBA Sports Betting Scandal had turned himself in. Ammar Awawdeh will be brought before Brooklyn Federal Court in the afternoon.
Awawdeh Timothy McCormack Mahmud Mollah Long Phi Pham were all accused of conspiring with ex-NBA player Jontay Port. The complaint states that the NBA gambling scandal was centered around Porter removing himself twice from games in order to ensure “under” wagers placed by defendants paid.
They bet on Toronto Raptors matches played between 26 January and March 20th. The four defendants wagered on legal sportsbooks DraftKings, FanDuel and Betfair. These operators reported the suspicious betting activity to NBA and IBIA.
Porter was banned from the NBA for life by Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA in April. Porter’s name is not mentioned in the complaint. Instead, he is called “Player 1,” who received a life-long ban. Porter is the sole NBA player who has received a life-long ban.
In the same way, DraftKings, FanDuel, and other betting companies are not named directly, but they are called “Betting Company 2” and “Betting Company 1. Federal investigators stated in the complaint that these betting companies were “co-official partners for sports betting of the NBA”. DraftKings, FanDuel and the NBA are co-official partners.
Awawdeh threatens Porter
On Friday, the US Attorney’s Office released the complaint without redactions regarding the NBA betting scandal. Awawdeh was the writer of Porter’s text suggesting a method to reduce his debt. It was suggested that Porter do a special or leave early in order to ensure under bets were paid. Awawdeh sent Porter a message that said: “Screenshot This… Me Ammar Awawdeh, born 7/23/91 forces [Player 1] into doing this.”
Porter is said to have replied: “If you don’t want me to do something special for your terms. It’s over. “You hate me, and you are coming to Toronto next Friday to beat me.”
When taken together, the text seems to suggest that Porter bet illegally. Porter may face criminal charges if this is the case, and he could also be banned from playing in league. Silver imposed the ban because Porter had shared his personal information. This isn’t a crime, but gambling with unauthorized bookmakers is.
Awawdeh funded the bets of another suspect
Awawdeh, according to the complaint did not bet personally on the game of 26 January, but rather a relative did. This person bet $10,000 on a “under” parlay, which paid out because Porter didn’t meet the threshold of three-pointers and assists. Profit was $75,000 on the bet. Awawdeh also did not wager on the game of 20 March.
Awawdeh could have put more money on Porter that it seems. Awawdeh texted Mollah, on 10 April: “I need you to chase [Betting Company 1].” The complaint states that Awawdeh sent Mollah a text on 10 April that read: “I really need you to hound [Betting Company 1].”
