Former NBA player sentenced to 10 years for defrauding league health care plan due to stupidity and greed.

Former NBA player sentenced to 10 years for defrauding league health care plan due to stupidity and greed.

Former NBA Player Terrence Williams Sentenced for Healthcare Fraud

Former NBA player Terrence Williams, once a rising star in the basketball world, has been sentenced to prison for his involvement in a healthcare fraud scheme. Williams, who was the 11th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges. He admitted to leading a ring that made false claims for medical and dental expenses.

The sentencing took place in the US District Court in Manhattan before Judge Valerie Caproni, who emphasized the seriousness of Williams’ crimes. She remarked, “Your behavior, of all the defendants in this case, was the most serious by a substantial measure.”

More than 20 individuals, including former NBA players Sebastian Telfair, Darius Miles, and Glen “Big Baby” Davis, were charged with defrauding the healthcare plan. Prosecutors alleged that Williams orchestrated the scheme and received kickbacks of at least $300,000 from the others involved.

The prosecution called for Williams to receive a sentence of more than 10 years, characterizing the fraud as “breathtaking.” The scheme involved recruiting former NBA players, forging signatures, impersonating health plan employees, and obtaining fake letters of medical necessity to justify procedures.

In contrast, Williams requested a sentence of a little over four years. In court papers, he shared a heartbreaking account of his troubled upbringing, marked by poverty, drug addiction, abuse, and parental absence. Williams’ father was murdered when he was just six years old, and both of his parents were incarcerated during his formative years. He also attributed some of his choices to an addiction to opioids, which arose from a basketball injury.

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During his statement before sentencing, Williams acknowledged his culpability, stating, “A lot of my bad choices in this case were caused by my opioid addiction, that I was feeding for years. The other half was stupidity and greed.”

Already having served a year and a half behind bars, Williams had his bail revoked several months after his arrest due to threatening a witness. The time already served will be credited towards his overall sentence.

As part of his plea agreement, Williams agreed to pay restitution of $2.5 million, the amount representing the losses to the NBA health plan. Additionally, he agreed to forfeit $654,000. However, Caproni noted that Williams does not have the financial means to fulfill this obligation.

This case bears resemblance to a similar healthcare fraud scheme involving former NFL players, including Clinton Portis, a former Washington running back. In 2019, Portis and other ex-players faced charges for cheating an NFL health care program by falsifying the purchase of expensive medical equipment.

The sentencing of Terrence Williams serves as a stark reminder of the potential pitfalls faced by professional athletes and the importance of ethical conduct both on and off the court. As the legal proceedings unfold, it will be interesting to see what impact this case has on the broader sports community.

The case is U.S. v. Williams, 21-cr-00603, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).