California Poker Cheat Pleads Guilty to NBA Wire Fraud Charges

Long Phi Pham, known to the Californian highstakes cash-game scene as “Bruce”, yesterday pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in an NBA betting case that has been headline news.

Pham, also part of a poker cheating ring, admitted to using “inside information” that Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter would feign injury to cash in on prop bets made on a major sportsbetting site.

Long Phi “Bruce” Pham, snapped during a meeting with co-conspirators (courtesy of US Attorneys Office)

$million Cheating Ring

Pham, or “Bruce” as he was known in poker circles, didn’t make his name from excellent play on the felt. Instead, he was part of a poker cheating ring that allegedly scummed $millions from highstakes homegames.

Hustler Casino Live regulars Ben ‘BlankCheckBen’ Lee, Nik ‘Airball’ Arcot, and Wesley ‘Wes Side’ Fei, are all thought to have been taken for huge sums by “Bruce” and his sidekicks (named as Ye ‘Tony Mars’ Shen, Shane Hennen and Arnaud Mattern) over a six-month period last year.

Arrested at the airport

However, Pham’s arrest on June 3rd wasn’t poker-related, but instead connected to an illegal NBA stat-shaving scheme.

Police caught up with Pham at JFK International Airport in New York just as the 38-year-old was planning to board a flight to Australia with a one-way ticket. He was found in possession of $12,000 in cash, two cashier’s checks totaling $80,000 and three cell phones.

Pham’s lawyer told FBI agents his client was en route to playing a tournament at The Star casino in Sydney.

The Scam Unravelled

A US Attorney’s Office press release for the Eastern District of New York soon revealed the reason for his arrest: “Long Phi Pham allegedly participated in a conspiracy to defraud an online sports betting website, encouraging an NBA player to unnecessarily withdraw himself from select games in an attempt to profit from personal bets made with this advanced, insider knowledge.”

It continued: “… Pham and his co-conspirators placed “under prop” bets on Player 1’s performance in two NBA games, knowing in advance that Player 1 planned to withdraw from those games for purported health reasons.”

Lifetime Ban for Porter

The player at the centre of the scam, Toronto Raptors’ Jontay Porter, was given a lifetime ban earlier this year for violating NBA gambling rules.

He was found guilty of “disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games.”

No Payout for Pham

Pham, described as the “primary fixer” behind the scam, recruited Porter and stood to make $1.1million from an $80,000 wager, although the money was never paid out.

Pham and two of his fellow defendants – Ammar Awawdeh and Mahmud Mollah – took part in a Telegram chat with Porter. The four defendants agreed to split 96% of the profits with a fourth defendant, Timothy McCormack, due to receive the remaining 4%.

Pham faces up to 20 years in jail when he is sentenced but his guilty plea is likely to see a much-reduced sentence.

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