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Former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter texted a co-conspirator in his gambling case during an NBA game to provide inside information, new court documents obtained by The Athletic say.
According to said documents, Porter would inform one of his co-conspirators of plans to alter his availability and that information was shared with Shane Hennen, who was arrested at a Las Vegas airport Sunday for his involvement in the scheme.
Hennen has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
Mike Vorkunov of The Atlantic tweeted:
"New filings by the federal government reveal that Porter was texting an alleged co-conspirator DURING a Raptors game to keep him updated on his status that day. That game is different than the two the NBA and feds identified before and said he manipulated his performance during.
"Feds say Porter sent a message before Jan. 26 game to an alleged co-conspirator: “Hit unders for the big numbers. I told [Co-Conspirator 2] no blocks no steals. I’m going to play first 2-3 minute stint off the bench then when I get subbed out tell them my eye killing me again."
ESPN first broke the news of the investigation into Jontay by the NBA in March of this past year.
“I was just praying for him,” said Raptors small forward Bruce Brown at the time. “Obviously, you don't want to see somebody go through something like that.
“But other than that, I mean, I don't know what's going on. I don't want to comment too much, but I don't know.”
Centre Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, B.C., said that he and his teammates learned about the investigation surrounding Porter the same way fans learned: through media reports.
“We don't really know anything is going on, so it's hard to comment on that,” said Olynyk. “You (reporters) probably know more than us, which is how these things usually work.”
The initial probe involved Porter's performance in games on Jan. 26 and March 20.
Prosecutors believe Hennen was also informed that Porter intended on leaving the March 20 game early and asked to not share that information with anyone else. He still told others.
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