The U.S. Department of Justice has handed down indictments against 18 former NBA players for allegedly attempting to defraud the league’s health and welfare benefits plan to the tune of almost $4 million.
The legal documents were unsealed in a federal court in New York on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021. Federal prosecutors accuse the 18 ex-players among the 19 individuals of engaging in a widespread scheme to defraud the NBA’s health plan by submitting fraudulent claims to get reimbursed for medical and dental expenses that they never incurred, Fox News reports.
The defendants allegedly filed $3.9 million in false claims, $2.5 million which were paid out, the prosecutor said at the press conference.
Among the notable ex-players who are facing a count of conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud are:
- Former Los Angeles Lakers star Shannon Brown, the ex-husband of singer Monica, who won a title in 2010.
- Glen Davis, who won a title with the Boston Celtics in 2008;
- Sebastian Telfair, a former high school basketball phenom in New York who played with eight teams but never met the expectations of greatness heaped upon him;
- Tony Allen, a six-time all-defensive team selection and member of the 2008 title-winning Celtics, and his wife;
- Melvin Ely, who won a title with the San Antonio Spurs in 2007.
According to a review of the indictment, the ringleader of this allegedly elaborate fraud scheme was Terrence Williams, 34, a former first-round pick in the 2009 NBA draft.
Williams reportedly got $230K in kickbacks for orchestrating the scheme from 2017- 2020 by providing false documentation for the individuals to file the claims. Williams allegedly got ahold of a fake template so that the invoices appeared as if they came from an actual chiropractor or physician.
Williams is also accused of impersonating an insurance claim employee for the furtherance of this allegedly illegal plan.
