Michael Soshnick, attorney for Long Phi Pham, walks out of Brooklyn Federal Court, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in New York. Soshnick declined to comment Wednesday on the case against Pham, a New York man charged in a sports betting scandal that cost former NBA player Jontay Porter his career. Pham and three co-defendants, whose names are redacted in a Brooklyn federal court complaint, are charged with conspiring to defraud a sports betting company.
The complaint says they placed wagers based on information from an NBA athlete — identified in the complaint only as “Player 1” — about his plans to claim illness or injury to limit his participation in two games. The alleged conspirators wagered that the player would fall short of expectations for his performance, and they won when he exited the games after only a few minutes, according to the complaint.
Pham, who also uses the first name Bruce, is a professional poker player, according to his attorney. Authorities said Pham was arrested Monday as the 38-year-old Brooklyn resident was getting on a flight to Australia with about $12,000 in cash. “We’ll see if they pick me up at the airport when I try to leave the country,” he texted an acquaintance, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Weintraub. He argued Wednesday against granting Pham any bail.