Prosecutors Indict 18 Former NBA Players For Alleged Healthcare Fraud Scheme Photo: Oklahoma City Thunder's Sebastian Telfair (31) is pictured during an NBA basketball game between the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City, Nov. 16, 2014. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Eighteen former NBA Players have been arrested in an alleged $4 million health insurance fraud. The veteran ballers allegedly engaged in a widespread scheme to defraud the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan by submitting fake reimbursement claims for medical and dental services they never received.
In some cases, the players who submitted the alleged false claims weren’t even in the U.S. when they allegedly received the treatments. They also allegedly filed fake invoices saying they had to pay for the phantom procedures out of pocket, NBC New York reported.
The players were indicted in Manhattan federal court. According to federal prosecutors, ex-NBA player Terrence Williams “orchestrated” the scheme and recruited other players in the health plan by offering fake invoices. He allegedly received $230,000 in kickbacks, NBC New York reported.
All of the players who have been indicted face conspiracy charges to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, which carries the potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Williams was also charged with aggravated identity theft, which has a possible sentence of up to two years in prison.
The players named in the indictment include Williams, selected 11th overall in the 2009 NBA draft by the then-New Jersey Nets; six-time NBA All-Defensive Team member Tony Allen; former Lakers Guard Shannon Brown; Ronald Glen “Big Baby” Davis, who played for the Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic, and Los Angeles Clippers during his career; as well as Alan Anderson, William Bynum, Christopher Douglas-Roberts, Melvin Ely, Jamario Moon, Darius Miles, Milton Palacio, Ruben Patterson, Eddie Robinson, Charles Watson Jr., Antoine Wright, Anthony Wroten, and Sebastian Telfair.
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Allen’s wife, Desiree Allen, was also charged in the indictment.
The defendants, who earned a combined $360 million during their NBA careers, The New York Post reported. Miles collected nearly $62 million during his 11 years in the league, followed by Tony Allen’s $40.9 million, Patterson’s $36.8 million, and Big Baby Davis’ $32.2 million.
“Making MILLIONS isn’t enough for these people. How greedy do you have to be?” asked DixieDarlin @RealityTV_Guru on Twitter.
TB @BarnesNoNoble tweeted, “People do some dumb shit when they’re motivated by greed”
According to the grand jury indictment, the defendants allegedly engaged in a widespread scheme from at least 2017 up to around 2020.
The indictment alleges that those allegedly fraudulent claims totaled about $3.9 million, from which the defendants got about $2.5 million in fraudulent proceeds.
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