The case of Jontay Porter, the former Toronto Raptors player banned from the NBA by Adam Silver, is not over.

The first known criminal consequences of the matter are coming to light, and in the last few hours it has emerged that a man from Brooklyn, New York, was arrested while attempting to board a plane (with a one-way ticket) to Australia with $12,000 (€11.000) in cash and cheques worth around $80,000 (€73,000).

The detainee, Long Phi 'Bruce' Pham, was caught at New York's John F Kennedy Airport with three mobile phones and several sports betting receipts in addition to the money.

Pham is believed to have been responsible for placing the bets on the Toronto-Clippers game on 26 January, winning over $40,000(€37,000) thanks to the player's first-quarter injury withdrawal, sparking the investigation into the scandal in the United States.

Although Porter is not named in the court complaint, the details about "Player 1" match those of the former Toronto Raptors player whose downfall occurred this spring. However, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have refused to confirm whether Porter is under investigation. But Brooklyn US Attorney Breon Peace said the alleged co-conspirators and "Player 1" "engaged in a brazen, illegal betting scheme that had a corrupting influence on two games and numerous bets".

"Whether on the court or in the casino, every point counts," Peace said in a statement.

The complaint alleges that the player communicated directly with defendant Long Phi Pham and other alleged co-defendants.

The criminal investigation, according to the report, suggests that Porter decided to manipulate his performance and fake an injury in order to settle debts with his accomplices and ensure that bets against him would all be winners, according to the FBI investigation.

According to "text messages, phone records and wire transfers," the complaint states, Porter had accumulated significant debts and was asked to withdraw from the game by one of the defendants, whose name has not yet been released. In one of the messages, Porter is seen responding, "If I don't get you 8K ($8,000) by Friday, you're coming to Toronto to beat me up.

In addition, after the NBA began investigating, the player warned Pham and other associates via a messaging app that they "might just get hit with a RICO" - an apparent reference to the common acronym for a federal racketeering charge - and asked if they had deleted "all that stuff" from their phones, according to the complaint.

Porter played 4 minutes and 24 seconds in that game against the Los Angeles Clippers before claiming he had aggravated the eye problem and left with no points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist - well below what sportsbooks were expecting, creating a payday for anyone betting the under. One alleged conspirator netted $33,250 (€30,000) and another's relative made $75,000 (€69,000), according to the complaint.

The 24-year-old averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 26 games this season and had a relatively low NBA salary of about $410,000 (€377,000).

Nearly two months later, the player told Pham and at least one other alleged conspirator that he would claim illness to leave a 20 March game - and they agreed he would get nearly a quarter of the betting winnings.

The complaint adds that Porter and the four defendants shared a Telegram group in which Pham and the others decided to bet against the player again on 20 March, in the game against Sacramento, knowing that he was sick.

Porter used the same tactics as against the Clippers. They met at an Atlantic City casino, placed the bet and won, with Porter playing just three minutes. According to the US Attorney's Office, the four defendants won more than a million dollars, with the player taking about a quarter of the winnings, the same amount as the detainee at the airport.

The detainee's status remains to be seen after an initial court appearance on Tuesday. He is charged with conspiracy to defraud a sports betting company and is due back in court on Wednesday for a bail hearing.

The NBA banned Porter in April after a league investigation found he provided confidential health information to a sportsbook operator and used someone else's account to bet on games he did not play in. In one multi-game parlay, he unsuccessfully bet against his own team, according to the NBA.

"There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of the NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter's blatant violations of our game rules will be met with the harshest punishment," league commissioner Adam Silver said in a press release.

At this time, the legal status of the player who has been suspended from the NBA is unknown, but he could be charged with racketeering or conspiracy, which carries a prison sentence of between 9 and 14 years.