Avast ye mateys! A former hoopsman be sent to the brig for a decade 'cos he bilked th' NBA's health treasures!
2023-08-04
Avast ye scurvy dogs! Terrence Williams, a scallywag from the NBA, be sentenced to a decade in the brig! He be found guilty of bilking the league's health and welfare booty from at least 2017 to 2021. Walk the plank, ye scurvy scallywag!
Former NBA player Terrence Williams has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for defrauding the league’s health and welfare benefit plan out of more than $5 million. Williams, who played for the New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, and Boston Celtics, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud, as well as aggravated identity theft. He has been incarcerated in Brooklyn since 2022 after threatening witnesses in his case.According to U.S. attorney Damian Williams, Williams led a scheme to steal millions of dollars from the NBA Players' Health and Welfare Benefit Plan. He recruited medical professionals and others to expand his criminal conspiracy. Williams not only lined his pockets through fraud and deceit but also stole the identities of others and threatened a witness. The health and welfare benefit plan provides benefits to eligible active and former NBA players and their family members.
Williams abused the plan by submitting fraudulent claims for reimbursement of medical and dental services that were not rendered. He orchestrated the scheme and provided false invoices to his co-defendants, who included a dentist and doctors in California and Washington state. Williams also impersonated a health plan employee and threatened players who did not give him kickback payments.
Williams was caught when former NBA center Gregory Smith submitted a claim for dental work he never received. In addition to his prison sentence, Williams was ordered to forfeit over $650,000 and pay restitution of $2.5 million. Williams was drafted 11th overall by the Nets in 2009 but struggled to find success in the NBA, averaging 7.1 points, 2.4 assists, and 3.6 rebounds over his career.