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Glen "Big Baby" Davis and Will Bynum, both with eight years of NBA experience, have been convicted for their involvement in a fraudulent scheme targeting the NBA Players’ Health and Benefit Welfare Plan. They were found guilty of falsely claiming reimbursement for medical treatments that were never actually received.
Davis and Bynum were convicted of health care fraud and wire fraud, in addition to being found guilty of conspiring to commit these offenses, among other charges.
US Attorney Damian Williams said the scheme, involving 20 defendants primarily consisting of retired NBA players, generated $5 million in gains from their illicit activities.
“While many of the more than 20 defendants convicted in this case were well-known NBA stars, their conduct was otherwise a typical fraudulent scheme designed to defraud the NBA’s health care plan and net the defendants over $5 million in illicit profits,” Williams said in a press release.
“Today’s conviction exemplifies that despite notoriety or success in sports or any other field, no one is exempt from criminal charges if they engage in fraud.”
After a conviction, the legal process proceeds to the sentencing phase, where the court determines the appropriate punishment for the convicted individuals. The sentencing typically occurs in a separate hearing scheduled after the conviction, allowing both the prosecution and defense to present arguments regarding the appropriate penalties.
The fraudulent scheme operated from 2017 to 2020, during which players submitted reimbursement claims for medical services that never occurred and were fabricated.
Among the NBA players implicated were Davis, Bynum, Tony Allen, Milt Palacio, Darius Miles, Terrence Williams, Sebastian Telfair and Christopher Douglas-Roberts.
Davis, who won the championship with the Boston Celtics in his rookie year, accumulated a total of $33,175,999 in earnings throughout his NBA career, while Bynum earned $16,593,650.
What happened to other NBA players involved in the scheme?
In February, former NBA players Alan Anderson and Keyon Dooling were each sentenced to 24 months and 30 months in prison, respectively, for their involvement in the scheme.
In August, Terrence Williams, identified as the mastermind behind the scheme, received a 10-year prison sentence. He was also mandated to pay $2.5 million in restitution and forfeit over $650,000.
Tony Allen, the former Memphis Grizzlies guard, has been assigned community service and placed under supervision after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.
According to Pete Brush of Law360, Tony Allen has reimbursed most of the $420,000 he unlawfully obtained before facing charges.
"I fully acknowledge my individual responsibility and I understand the gravity of my actions," Allen said on the day of his sentencing. "As a member of the NBA community I failed to uphold our core values."
Guess the Lakers players!
