The identity of the man who placed an $80,000 parlay wager on a variety of NBA betting “unders” involving Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter was unveiled in a criminal complaint Thursday.
The parlay would have netted over $1 million had it not been flagged for unusual NBA betting activity.
Landsale, Pa., resident Mahmud Mollah wagered $80,000 on March 20 that Porter would go under on assists, rebuilds, points, 3-pointers, steals and blocks. The bet hit for $1.2 million.
However, federal authorities ultimately uncovered an alleged NBA betting scheme between Porter and four co-conspirators, and they never got their big payday.
Who Porter allegedly worked with
Brooklyn man Long Phi Pham was named in a previous complaint. Mollah and New York resident Timothy McCormack were named Thursday. The name of the other co-conspirator remains unknown.
Porter, who was ultimately banned for life from the NBA, allegedly owed “large gambling debts to certain co-conspirators” when he provided inside betting information, while also exiting games with made-up injuries.
“If I don’t do a special with your terms. Then it’s up. And u hate me and if I don’t get u 8k by Friday you’re coming to Toronto to beat me up,” Porter said, according to the complaint.
Mollah placed the $80,000 parlay with DraftKings Sportsbook, identified in the complaint as “Betting Company 1,” according to ESPN.
NBA betting agreement on March 20
Under a March 20 agreement, according to the complaint, Mollah, Pham, Porter and the unidentified co-conspirator would each receive 24% of the profits. McCormack would get the remaining 4%.
Atlantic City, NJ was the place where the group met to place their bets on Porter. Surveillance video captured the meeting. There is a DraftKings Sportsbook inside the Resorts Casino Hotel.
How NBA betting scheme was uncovered
DraftKings suspended Mollah’s account before he could withdraw funds. Sportsbooks reported the bets to the International Betting Integrity Association.
The IBIA then alerted the FBI.
Mollah makes numerous other wagers
Mollah also made several other wagers related to Porter on March 20:
- A $10,000 prop bet on the under for Porter’s assists to net a profit of $32,000.
- Three separate $500 parlay bets on the under for Porter’s assists, rebounds, points, 3-pointers, steals and blocks to net a profit of $20,000.
- A $9,400 parlay bet on the under for Porter’s blocks, points and assists to net a profit of $35,250.
- Two separate $500 parlay bets on the under for Porter’s assists, rebounds, points and blocks to net a profit of $4,375. DraftKings, in daily data it sends to reporters, listed Porter as its top NBA liability that day.
McCormack’s alleged involvement
McCormack also wagered $8,000 on the under for Porter’s rebounds on March 20 for a net profit of $36,000.
Additionally, he placed a $7,000 parlay bet at DraftKings on Jan. 26 on Porter’s 3-pointers, points, assists and rebounds.
Porter also removed himself from that game, and McCormack won a net profit of $33,250.
DraftKings noted high betting activity
On Jan. 26, the top DraftKings NBA moneymaker prop was Porter under 0.5 3-pointers made. The third-highest was Porter under 3.5 rebounds.
“In general, it is important to note that one of the many benefits of legal and regulated sports betting is that sports betting operators identify and report suspicious activity and the integrity of sport is therefore protected in a manner that does not exist in the legal market,” a spokesperson from DraftKings said at the time the Porter scandal came to light.
Following the NBA betting money trail
According to the complaint, about an hour before making the first of several Porter bets on March 20, Mollah deposited $66,900 in cash into his DraftKings account. Video shows he walked to the teller with the unnamed co-conspirator, holding a blue gift bag containing the cash.
According to the complaint, on April 10, the unnamed co-conspirator sent a text to Mollah stating: “I really need you to hound [Betting Company 1]. At least get me back my principle $.”
The complaint alleges the text indicates that the unnamed co-conspirator provided Mollah with the cash for those wagers.
AP: Defendants granted bond
According to the Associated Press, McCormack and Mollah were granted $50,000 bond each after their arrest arraignments Thursday.
The AP reported a judge agreed to release Pham on Wednesday to home detention and electronic monitoring on $750,000 bond. However, he remained in custody Thursday as his paperwork was being finalized, according to the AP.
The Porter scandal has led to the NBA and its sportsbook partners talking about possibly banning betting markets on two-way players, per LSR sources.
