Former NBA player Terrence Williams has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for defrauding the NBA health and welfare benefit plan out of more than $5 million, the United State’s Attorney’s Office announced Thursday. He has been jailed in Brooklyn since the spring of 2022 due to threatening witnesses.
Williams pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud in addition to aggravated identity theft last year. Along with prison time, he will also have to pay more than $3.1 million in restitution and forfeitures.
“Williams led a wide-ranging scheme to steal millions of dollars from the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan,” U.S. attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “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.”
The NBA health and welfare benefit plan is intended to serve eligible active and former players of the league, as well as their family members.
Williams was accused of enlisting other retired players to submit fraudulent medical claims from approximately 2017 to 2020. Their scheme involved using fabricated invoices for medical and dental services that were never provided. Williams was among 18 former NBA players indicted in 2021. The co-defendants include a dentist, a doctor, and a chiropractor.
Williams also pretended to be a health plan employee and intimidated players who did not pay him a “kickback” of at least $300,000.
They were eventually caught due to inconsistencies in documentation. According to CBS News, prosecutors revealed that former NBA center Gregory Smith filed claims for a root canal and dental crowns on December 20, 2018, in Beverly Hills. However, Smith was not in California at the time, as he was playing in Taiwan’s Super Basketball League.
Williams had been released on pretrial conditions but was taken into custody in 2022 after allegedly threatening a witness.
According to the U.S Attorney’s Office, Williams sent text messages to the witness stating that they were “talking way too f—–g much,” that they needed to “shut the f–k up,” and “me spitting in your face is exactly what you’ll see.”
Williams had a career spanning four seasons in the NBA, with his last appearance in 2013. He played for the Nets, Rockets, Kings, and Celtics.
