Record-setting former Florida Gators' quarterback Shane Matthews has been sentenced to serve three months in federal prison for his role in a healthcare fraud conspiracy.
Matthews became entangled in a scheme with former UF linebacker Monty Grow to receive kickbacks on prescription medications, Matthews' attorney Miles Kinsell said in a statement to the Gainesville Sun.
Grow hired Matthews to join an independent marketing team that ultimately would bilk $20 million from the TRICARE program for military members, veterans and their families.
Matthews, 47 and a Gainesville resident, stopped working for Grow in the spring of 2015 unaware of the conspiracy, Kinsell told the Sun. When approached by investigators the following year, Matthews fully cooperated in the investigation.
"Stunned by this revelation, I immediately cooperated with the authorities and offered to give back every cent of my compensation," Matthews said in a statement. "I deeply regret getting involved with Mr. Grow's business.
"My biggest mistake was not asking more questions in regards to his business practices. I have learned a valuable lesson in the importance of prudent decision making. Going forward, I will be sure to share this experience with the young men I coach so that they might avoid the pitfalls of a mistake this costly.
"I accept full responsibility for my role in this operation. The punishment of a brief incarceration pales in comparison to the embarrassment this has caused me, my family, my friends, and the Gator Nation. For letting down all those who have supported me over the years, I offer my sincerest apologies."
Matthews was sentenced in a South Florida court last week after he pled guilty last August to one count of causing a drug to be misbranded. He was paid $440,000 for lining up sales representatives who secured TRICARE patients for Pompano Beach-based pharmacy Patient Care America. Grow then received kickbacks.
Matthews returned all proceeds he received while employed by Grow, Kinsell said. Matthews still faces a forfeiture of $439,765 against him.
Matthews, who co-hosts a Gainesville radio show and is an assistant high school football coach, must surrender to authorities on or before noon on June 1. He then will report to a federal facility as close to Gainesville as possible.
Matthew will wear electronic "home detention" monitoring for three months, must do 50 hours of community service and pay a fine of $100.
Meanwhile, Grow was convicted of conspiring to receive and pay kickbacks for hundreds of military beneficiaries through Patient Care America. He also was convicted of money laundering.
Grow was taken into custody and will face up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on April 16.
