Eighteen former NBA players were indicted Thursday for a scam to bilk the league’s health care plan out of nearly $4 million, Manhattan federal prosecutors announced.
According to a 32-page federal court filing, the defendants “engaged in a widespread scheme to defraud the plan by submitting false and fraudulent claims” for non-existent medical and dental services. The phony billings totaled $3.9 million, with the defendants collecting $2.5 million, prosecutors charged.
Prosecutors alleged the theft was orchestrated by former NBA first-round draft pick Terrence Williams, who provided the others with fake invoices to support the phony claims. In return, the players allegedly provided Williams with $230,000 in kickbacks between 2017 and last year.
Williams initially collected $19,000 for a fraudulent claim involving a California chiropractor and then began recruiting other NBA veterans to join in, according to court papers.
Others charged include Antoine Wright and Sebastian Telfair.
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