Former first-round NBA draft pick is sentenced to 10 years in prison in $4M health care fraud

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Former first-round NBA draft pick is sentenced to 10 years in prison in $4M health care fraud

BY LARRY NEUMEISTER
Updated 5:30 PM EDT, August 3, 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge sentenced a former first-round NBA draft pick to 10 years in prison Thursday, saying he used his people skills to entice others to aid his $5 million health care fraud after he “frittered away” substantial earnings from his professional career.

Terrence Williams, 36, of Seattle, was also ordered to forfeit more than $650,000 and to pay $2.5 million in restitution for ripping off the NBA’s Health and Welfare Benefit Plan between 2017 and 2021 with the help of a dentist in California and doctors in California and Washington state. Profits were generated by claims for fictitious medical and dental expenses.

Prosecutors said fraudulent invoices created by the medical professionals were processed by other people whom Williams recruited to defraud the plan, which provides health benefits to eligible active and former NBA players and their families.

“You were yet another player who frittered away substantial earnings from the period of time when you were playing basketball professionally,” Judge Valerie E. Caproni told him. “You should have had enough money to be set for life, but you don’t.”

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/nba-health-fraud-williams-96bd079c6a3632addecde71efaed74e7

[underpants]

1. Don't remember him. This guy played everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE

China
Turkey
Puerto Rico a couple times
The Dominican Republic a couple times
Venezuela
I missed a couple Mexicos in here. On edit.
Oh and the Phillipines

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrence_Williams

[ProfessorGAC]

2. Not Much To Remember

He had limited skills & a mediocre basketball IQ. He averaged 19 minutes a game scoring 7 points and 3 rebounds. Less than one rebound every 6 minutes, at 6'6". Couldn't shoot either.
If he wasn't a leaper (considered potential), he'd never have been in the NBA.
He was "just ok" at Louisville, so him not succeeding at the highest level shouldn't shock anybody.
He had a reputation for being lazy, which might be why he never got better than he was as a sophomore in college.
I remember a lot of experts being shocked when he got picked that high in the draft.