Michael A. Sirignano ,left, and Jennifer Abreu ,right, of Rivkin Radler. Courtesy photos High-Profile Sports Insurance Fraud Rings: A Recent Conviction
"Plainly, many believe that even audacious, high profile insurance fraud schemes will go unnoticed," write Michael A. Sirignano and Jennifer Abreu.
September 26, 2024 at 12:00 PM
8 minute read
No health insurance benefit program, no matter how high profile, is immune to the temptations of insurance fraud. In the past, multiple former NFL players pleaded guilty to defrauding the NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan. According to the Justice Department, the defendants submitted about $2.9 million in false and fraudulent claims for expensive medical equipment—such as hyperbaric oxygen chambers, ultrasound machines and electromagnetic therapy devices—that were not actually provided. See, e.g., https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-nfl-player-sentenced-prison-nationwide-health-care-fraud-scheme. Several of the former NFL players were sentenced to prison time in connection with this scheme, including "ringleader" Robert McCune.
More recently, the government indicted multiple ex-NBA players for participating in a similar, large-scale insurance fraud scheme. Many of the ex-NBA players pleaded guilty. A physician, Dr. William Washington, who was also charged in the scheme, proceeded to trial in the Southern District of New York earlier this summer. Washington was found guilty by a jury of wire fraud, health care fraud and other related crimes in connection with a scheme involving bogus claims submitted to the National Basketball Association's Health and Welfare Benefit Plan (the NBA Health Plan). Washington's sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 29, 2024, but he is now seeking a new trial.
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