NEW YORK — A former professional basketball player was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for defrauding the National Basketball Association’s health care and benefit plan, officials say.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams announced that former NBA player Terrence Williams was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for leading a scheme to defraud the NBA’s health and welfare benefit plan out of more than $5 million.
Williams previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud as well as aggravated identity theft, prosecutors say.
Williams, 36, was ordered to forfeit more than $650,000 and to pay $2.5 million in restitution for “ripping off” the NBA’s Health and Welfare Benefits plan between 2017 and 2021, according to The Associated Press. Williams reportedly had help from a California dentist and doctors in both California and Washington state. Money was made by filing claims that were “fictitious medical and dental expenses.”
More than a dozen others were involved in the scheme, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors claimed that Williams recruited other people to defraud the NBA’s Health and Welfare Benefits plan. According to the AP, NBA’s Health and Welfare Benefits plan is designed to provide health benefits for active and former NBA players as well as their families, if eligible.
“Williams led a wide-ranging scheme to steal millions of dollars from the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan. Williams recruited medical professionals and others to expand his criminal conspiracy and maximize his ill-gotten gains. Williams not only lined his pockets through fraud and deceit, but he also stole the identities of others and threatened a witness to further his criminal endeavors. For his brazen criminal acts, Williams now faces years in prison,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a news release.
Williams has been in prison since May 2022. According to the AP, that was when he allegedly sent some threatening texts to a witness involved in the case.
In addition to his 10 years in prison, Williams was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to forfeit $653,672.55 and $2.5 million in restitution, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.
Williams was a No. 11 pick in the 2009 draft by the then-New Jersey Nets, the AP reported. His career ended in 2013 after he had played for the Nets, Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, and Sacramento Kings.
