A defendant in the Terry Rozier and Jontay Porter gambling schemes received a two-year prison sentence by a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday.
Key Takeaways
- Timothy McCormack is the first defendant in the NBA betting schemes to be sentenced.
- The judge gave him a two-year sentence, half of what prosecutors requested.
- McCormack said he has had a gambling addiction for over half of his life.
Timothy McCormack became the first individual from the group that defrauded sports betting operators to be punished for using game manipulation information to place wagers, according to an ESPN report.
Federal prosecutors asked for a sentence double what McCormack received. His attorneys requested no prison time.
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Gambling addiction
McCormack said at his sentencing that he has dealt with a gambling addiction for more than half of his life, and Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall agreed, but also added that McCormack violated sports integrity.
“He has an addiction,” DeArcy Hall said. “I don't believe the conduct Mr. McCormack engaged in defines him. There is no question this is a serious crime. Sports matter to me as an individual, as it should to society.”
Federal prosecutor David Berman said McCormack was “not as culpable” as some of the other defendants in the case, but he still committed “cold, hard fraud,” and that “schemes can’t work” without McCormack and his co-conspirators.
Role in Porter scandal
McCormack pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in January 2025. Long Phi “Bruce” Pham, Mahmud Mollah, Ammar Awawdeh, Shane Hennen, and McCormack used information provided by Porter in 2024 to bet the unders on his player props after the former NBA player for the Toronto Raptors said he would remove himself early from two games, citing injuries.
The men allegedly placed bets worth thousands of dollars. One parlay wager of $80,000 was canceled by the sportsbook, but would’ve paid more than $1 million.
Porter was banned by the NBA in April 2024, pleaded guilty to federal charges, and is expected to be sentenced in 2026.
Betting on Rozier
McCormack also received information in March 2023 to bet the under on Rozier’s player props in a March 2023 game between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier, now a member of the Miami Heat, was arrested and charged in October, just days after the start of the NBA season, following an FBI investigation.
Rozier pleaded not guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges in December. He’s expected to return to court in March.
