Fourth and Final Suspect in NBA Gambling Scandal Turns Himself In

On June 7, the US Attorney’s office for the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York made an important announcement in the betting scandal that took the world of NBA by storm. 

Ammar Awawdeh, the fourth and final suspect in the scandal that ended Jontay Porter’s career turned himself in. 

Earlier in the same week, Timothy McCormack and Mahmud Mollah were charged by federal prosecutors in relation to the conspiracy that was allegedly based on information from Porter himself.

The duo joined Long Phi Pham and then another unnamed defendant, who has now come forward as Awawdeh, all facing the same charges, according to reports from the Associated Press. 

Awawdeh Allegedly Set a Threatening Text to Porter

According to the unredacted complaint for the NBA betting scandal released by the US Attorney’s office, Awawdeh had sent a text message to Porter, suggesting a way for the latter to pay down his debt. 

The suggestion in the text message was for Porter to do a “special”, a term to refer to the player leaving a game early so that under bets would pay. 

The same document also revealed a text that Awawdeh apparently sent to the same player, reading “Screenshot this … Me ammar awawdeh born 7/23/91 is forcing [Player 1] to do this.”

Allegedly, Porter replied to the text saying “If I don’t do a special with your terms. Then it’s up. And u hate me and if I don’t get you 8k by Friday you’re coming to Toronto to beat me up.”

Porter Could Face Criminal Charges

The four defendants seem to have placed their bets with legal operators. 

However, when analyzed together, the text messages might suggest that Porter was betting using illegal platforms. 

If this suspicion proved to be the truth, Porter could be facing criminal charges, in addition to the lifetime ban that he has already been slapped with by the league. 

The ban was partially imposed because the player shared personal health information. 

This in itself does not represent a criminal offense. However, when used to bet with unregulated sportsbooks, its status changes.

Awawdeh Allegedly Funded Bets for Another Suspect

The complaint says that while Awawdeh did not personally wager on the January 26 Toronto Raptors game, in which Porter allegedly did a “special”, one of his relatives placed a bet instead. 

The respective individuals wagered $10,000 on an “under” parlay that ended up paying $85,000 for a $75,000 profit since it failed to meet the bet’s threshold for three-pointers, assists, and steals. 

Awawdeh did not place any wagers on the March 20 Toronto Raptors game either.

Nevertheless, Awawdeh may have placed more bets on Porter than it seems, with the complaint showing the former had sent a text to Mollah on April 10, asking him “to hound [Betting Company 1]. At least get me back my principle $.” 

Just like Porter was not directly named in the complaint, but was given the “Player 1” alias, DraftKings was attributed the “Betting Company 1” alias. “Betting Company 2” is the alias given to FanDuel.

According to FBI special agent Dominic Mariani’s explanation found in the complaint, the text could mean that Awawdeh had funded Mollah’s bet.

After he was arraigned, Awawdeh, who is helping his family manage several corner stores in New York City, was released on $100,000 bond to home detention. He is now supervised via ankle monitoring. 

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