May 10 (UPI) — A federal court on Friday sentenced former NBA champion Glen “Big Daddy” Davis to 40 months in prison for his part in a scheme to defraud the league’s healthcare plan.
The judge also ordered Davis to pay $80,000 in restitution.
Denver Nuggets center Nene (R) tips the ball away from Boston Celtics forward Glen Davis during the first quarter at the Pepsi Center on February 21, 2010, in Denver. File Photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI | License Photo
Davis was one of 18 former NBA players charged in October 2021 with filing almost $4 million in fraudulent health claims between 2017 and 2020.
A court in November found Davis guilty of wire fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to make false statements related to health care matters.
Former player Terrence Williams was the assumed ringleader of the conspiracy, according to the Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney’s Office. He was sentenced to 10 years last August.
Williams also was forced to forfeit $653,672 and pay $2,500,000 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss in 2021 alleged Williams obtained fraudulent medical and dental invoices, which he passed along to Davis and the other players, who then submitted the claims to the NBA, which paid most of the claims.
Each person tried to claim between $65,000 to $420,000 in reimbursements for treatments they never received, according to Strauss.
Davis and Williams ended up slapped with the most prison time out of any of the other players involved in the scheme. Former NBA guard Will Bynum last month received a sentence of just 18 months after lying to a jury while under oath.
Davis helped the Boston Celtics win the 2008 championship and retired from the NBA after his final season in 2014-15. He averaged eight points and 4.4 rebounds per game during his career.