Nearly 20 former NBA players have been arrested by the Feds for their alleged role in a healthcare scam.
NBC 4 New York was the first to break the story. According to the local NBC affiliate, the scheme involved plans to rip off the insurance provided by the league to NBA players both past and present. The charges were filed in the Southern District of New York on Thursday, Oct. 7.
A full list of NBA players who were arrested in the scheme can be found below.
Some of the players charged include:
– Milt Palacio
– Sebastian Telfair
– Antoine Wright
– Darius Miles
– Ruben Patterson
– Eddie Robinson
– Gregory Smith
– Glen Davis
– Jamario Moon(1/2)
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) October 7, 2021
More former players:
– Terrence Williams
– Alan Anderson
– Tony Allen
– Shannon Brown
– William Bynum
– Melvin Ely
– Christopher Douglas-Roberts
– Tony Wroten(2/2)
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) October 7, 2021
“According to the grand jury indictment, the defendants allegedly engaged in a widespread scheme from at least 2017 up to around 2020 to defraud the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan by submitting fake reimbursement claims for medical and dental services that were never actually rendered,” reported the outlet.
The report went on to say that in many of these cases, the players weren’t even in the country at the time the claims were submitted.
What’s unclear, though, is how this information managed to slip through the proverbial cracks — so much so, in fact, that of the nearly $4 million in claims that were fraudulently submitted, the defendants allegedly got nearly $2.5 million in fraudulent claims, which prompted their arrest.
The scheme, which was allegedly orchestrated by former New Jersey Nets star Terrence Williams, was swiftly denounced by the league.
“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,” the league said in a statement.
