The sentencing hearing for former NBA player, Patrick Porter, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for manipulating two games, is scheduled for May 20. While Porter cooperated with U.S. authorities, legal experts predict a severe punishment due to the premeditated nature of the offenses and his status as a public figure. The defense may attempt to mitigate his sentence by citing his gambling addiction, which could be less impactful in the U.S. compared to Canada.
Porter's sentencing hearing, originally scheduled for Wednesday, is set to take place May 20 at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn, N.Y. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on July 10 after admitting to competitive manipulation in two NBA games.Peter Czegledy, a partner at Aird and Berlis who chairs the Toronto law firm's gaming group, said that although Porter has apparently co-operated with U.S.
Czegledy noted that the 25-year-old Porter's gambling addiction would have limited value to his defence if he was tried in Canada. A 1996 Court of Appeal decision explicitly decided that an accused’s addiction or obsession with gambling should not be considered a mitigating factor warranting a lesser sentence.
The maximum prison sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud is 20 years, but prosecutors have estimated Porter's sentence to fall in a range from 41 to 51 months."This is a young man who has managed to achieve an incredibly difficult task — to play professionally with the best in the world in his chosen sport. However, that is now an empty achievement," said Czegledy.
"Most, if not all, of the related betting took place in the U.S. through two U.S. sportsbooks. Those businesses, consistent with their internal security processes, flagged the irregular activity promptly and reported it to U.S. authorities for investigation in addition to prompting their own investigations," he said."As a result, U.S. gaming regulators and enforcement authorities were the first governmental parties to get involved.
Czegledy said that gaming regulations in Canada are already very broad and detailed, covering every facet of the industry. That includes operators, suppliers, managers, employees and others. However, the unregulated gambling market — the illegal market — is the domain of justice and enforcement authorities, who have to largely rely on Part VII of the Criminal Code of Canada, a section he believes is outdated.
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