A resident of Lansdale, PA has been arrested on wire fraud charges in the NBA betting scandal that banned Toronto Raptors forward, Jontay Porter (above), from the league for life. A criminal complaint published on Thursday confirmed Mahmud Mollah to be an Lansdale resident and US citizen.
Mollah, along with another New York man, Timothy McCormack, were both charged on Thursday. Previously, Brooklyn resident Long Phi Pham was named in a complaint connected with the case.
A fourth man, who remained unidentified in Thursday’s complaint, also worked with the other three and Porter.
Though Mollah is a PA resident, he did not use any PA online sportsbooks. He placed the wagers involving Porter — including an $80,000 parlay bet — at a casino in Atlantic City, according to a story by Legal Sports Report.
Mollah’s involvement in NBA betting probe
Porter left two games early — on Jan. 26 and March 20 — claiming injury or illness, which raised suspicion in the NBA and sports betting community. According to the criminal complaint, Mollah does not appear to be involved in the Jan. 26 game.
However, Mollah’s participation surfaced in a big way before and during the March 20 contest.
Before the game, Porter communicated to Mollah, Pham and Timothy McCormack that he would remove himself from the game as the four agreed to a profit sharing system. Video surveillance shows the three men meeting at an Atlantic City casino.
ESPN has reported the bets were made through DraftKings, identified in the complaint only has Betting Company 1.
At 7:24 p.m. ET, Mollah placed the first of multiple bets on Porter after depositing $66,900 into his account. He made the following wagers:
- $10,000 on Porter’s under for assists, netting a profit of $32,000
- $80,000 parlay on Porter’s under for points, assists, rebounds, three-pointers, steals and blocks, netting a profit of $1.04 million
- Three separate $500 parlays on the exact bullet above, netting a profit of $20,000
- $9,400 parlay on Porter’s under for points, assists and blocks, netting a profit of $35,250
- Two separate $500 parlays on Porter’s points, assists, rebounds and blocks, netting a profit of $4,375
Mollah did not collect any of his winning because of suspicious activity.
Communication between Mollah and Porter
When news started spreading about the betting behavior, Porter sent a text to Mollah and Pham on April 4, saying they “might just get hit w a rico.” The complaint suggests that the message refers to the violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
In another message that day, he asked the group chat if they had deleted evidence of conspiring from their cell phones.
On April 10, the unidentified man sent the following text to Mollah:
“I really need you to hound [Betting Company 1]. At least get me back my principle $.”
The complaint says that text indicates the unidentified man provided Mollah with the cash to bet.
The Associated Press reported that Mollah and McCormack were granted $50,000 bond each after their arraignments Thursday. Pham and the other unidentified man were also charged for their involvement.
It’s unknown what comes next, especially for Mollah, the Lansdale resident. However, it appears he’s staring down a lengthy jail sentence.
