NBA champion Glen Davis sentenced to 40 months in prison for part in plan to defraud league’s health care plan out of millions
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By Ben Morse and Amanda Musa, CNN
(CNN) — Former NBA champion Glen Davis has been sentenced to 40 months in prison for his part in a scheme to defraud the league’s health care plan out of millions of dollars, according to federal court records from the Southern District of New York.
Davis, 38, was one of 18 former NBA players who were indicted in October 2021 after allegedly participating in a “widespread scheme to defraud” the NBA’s health plan by submitting nearly $4 million in “false and fraudulent” claims to be reimbursed for medical and dental services that had not actually been provided.
Davis – whose nickname while he played in the NBA was “Big Baby” – was also ordered to pay $80,000 in restitution, according to court documents.
In November, Davis was found guilty of wire fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to make false statements related to health care matters, court documents show.
When approached for comment by CNN, Davis’ attorney noted his intent to appeal but declined to comment further.
Former NBA player Terrence Williams was also convicted in the case, court documents show.
Williams, who has been called the “leader of the conspiracy” by prosecutors, pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud in 2022, according to a judgment order. He received a 10-year prison sentence and three years of supervised release in August 2023.
In addition to his prison term, Williams was to forfeit $653,672 and to pay restitution in the amount of $2,500,000, court documents show.
Williams’ attorney did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
CNN has reached out to the NBA for comment.
Davis was selected by the Seattle Supersonics – which have since moved and have been rebranded as the Oklahoma City Thunder – with the 35th pick of the 2007 NBA Draft before having his rights traded to the Boston Celtics, playing in the NBA for eight seasons. He was part of the Celtics’ NBA title-winning team in 2008, while also going on to play for the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Clippers.
He averaged eight points and 4.4 rebounds per game during his NBA career.
A total of 16 people were arrested by the FBI following the 2021 indictment by Manhattan federal prosecutors.
In 2021, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York at the time, Audrey Strauss, said the ringleader Williams allegedly obtained fraudulent medical and dental invoices, sent those invoices to his co-conspirators, who then submitted the claims to the plan, which paid “most” of their claims for procedures they never received.
The scheme, Strauss said, began around November 2017.
Each person allegedly tried to claim between $65,000 to as much as $420,000 in fraudulent medical service reimbursements, Strauss said. She said in many cases, the people submitting the invoices were nowhere near the location where they claimed to be receiving treatments.
One former NBA player, Strauss said, submitted a bill for $48,000 claiming he had IV sedation and root canals and crowns on eight teeth on December 20, 2018, at an office in Beverly Hills, California. But Strauss said on that date, travel records and even “publicly available box scores” show the man was actually playing professional basketball in Taiwan.
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