Feds indict 18 former NBA players for $3.9million healthcare scheme

[pwaldo]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...re-scheme.html

A federal court in New York has charged 18 former NBA players and one spouse with an alleged $3.9 million scheme aimed at defrauding the league's health insurance plan.

According to an indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York on Thursday, former New Jersey Nets and Boston Celtics guard Terrence Williams was the ringleader of the plan to submit false claims to the NBA's Health and Welfare Benefit Plan between 2017 and 2020. Specifically, Williams is accused of asking for kickbacks in exchange for filing false invoices on behalf of other former players.

Williams allegedly had fake template invoices emailed to the other defendants. However, according to the indictment, the bogus invoices were noticed because they were 'not on letterhead.' Also, they allegedly contained 'unusual formatting' and 'grammatical errors.'

Other accused former players include Chris Douglas-Roberts, who played with Williams on the Nets, as well as Tony Allen, Shannon Brown, Glen 'Big Baby' Davis, Sebastian Telfair, Darius Miles, Milt Palacio, Antoine Wright, Ruben Patterson, Alan Anderson, CJ Watson, Eddie Robinson, Will Bynum, Melvin Ely, Jamario Moon, Greg Smith, and Tony Wroten.

Allen's wife, Desiree, is also named as a defendant in the indictment, which was first reported by NBC New York.

All of the defendants are charged with health care fraud and aggravated identify theft. As of midday on Thursday, 16 of the 19 defendants had been arrested, according to prosecutors.

The NBA released a statement Thursday in response to the indictments: 'The benefit plans provided by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association to our players are critically important to support their health and well-being throughout their playing careers and over the course of their lives, which makes these allegations particularly disheartening. We will cooperate fully with the U.S. Attorney's Office in this matter.'

Some of the players were out of the country at the time they were supposed to be receiving the treatments, according to the complaint. Ultimately, the defendants filed $3.9 million in fraudulent claims, of which they have received $2.5 million, according to the indictment.

Williams is also accused of obtaining fake doctors notes for Watson, Wright and Davis and impersonating a claims processor. In one case, Williams allegedly filed a false reimbursement claim for $19,000 in chiropractic serves that he never received. The indictment says he still got a $7,672.55 reimbursement.

Authorities also noticed duplicate invoices in which Davis, Allen, and Wroten all allegedly submitted dental claims for the same procedures on the same teeth at the same place on the same day.

[WilyWestbrook0]

Scummy stuff from bummy underachievers in the league. Not surprised at any of those names tbh.