Terrence Williams has entered a guilty plea in a fraud case that includes 17 other former NBA players, according to The Associated Press.
An October 2021 indictment accused the 35-year-old Williams of orchestrating an effort to commit health care fraud and identity theft involving the NBA’s health plan. He submitted his plea Friday in federal court in Manhattan and will be sentenced in January. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for conspiracy and a mandatory two-year sentence for identity theft.
The scheme involved fake claims and paperwork being submitted to the health plan for reimbursement of medical and dental expenses. Authorities reported that at least $5MM in false claims were turned in by the ex-players from 2017 to 2021.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Terrence Williams received at least $300K in kickbacks as the leader of the scam. He recruited other ex-players to participate and gave them fake paperwork to submit.
Under a plea agreement, Terrence Williams will pay $2.5MM in restitution to the health care plan and will forfeit more than $650K to the federal government. He has been in custody since earlier this year when he was accused of threatening a witness.
Terrence Williams, the 11th selection in the 2009 draft, played for the Nets, Rockets, Kings and Celtics during his four-year NBA career.
Such big sentences for what is effectively white collar crimes when violent offenders get slaps on the wrist
Uh, fraud is not exactly a victimless crime. It raises the cost for everyone else, essentially stealing large amounts of money from them.
However, I am wondering if you can provide examples of violent offenders getting “slapped on the wrist”. I have not heard about any, rather I have heard the opposite as we incarcerated a greater number of people than any country in the world.
Terrence Williams is the definition of scum!
Alot of these guys made pennies to some players today. I hope they can survive. Meanwhile I’m working 40 to 50 hours a week to barley survive and eat. What a great world for these ……… … I will tell my kids, you need to play sports because it’s more important than most things in life
He should have just started a solar company and received a grant from the Department of Energy.