Ten former pro football players have been charged with committing a nationwide fraud on a health care benefit program for retired NFL players.Ten former National Football League (NFL) players, including two from Texas, have been charged in the U.S. District Court for thetern District of Kentucky in two separate indictments for their alleged roles in what prosecutors asserted was a nationwide fraud on a health care benefit program for retired NFL players.
According to prosecutors, the alleged fraud targeted the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan, which was established pursuant to the 2006 collective bargaining agreement and which provided for tax-free reimbursement of out-of-pocket medical care expenses that were not covered by insurance and that were incurred by former players, their wives, and their dependents – up to a maximum of $350,000 per player.
As alleged in the charging documents, over $3.9 million in false and fraudulent claims were submitted to the plan, and the plan paid out over $3.4 million on those claims between June 2017 and December 2018.
The following former players were charged:
- Ceandris Brown, 36, of Fresno, Texas; Clinton Portis, 38, of McLean, Virginia; James Butler, 37, of Atlanta, Georgia; and Fredrick Bennett, 35, of Port Wentworth, Georgia, each were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of health care fraud.
- Correll Buckhalter, 41, of Colleyville, Texas, and Etric Pruitt, 38, of Theodore, Alabama, were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud.
- Robert McCune, 40, of Riverdale, Georgia, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud, nine counts of wire fraud, and nine counts of health care fraud.
- John Eubanks, 36, of Cleveland, Mississippi; Tamarick Vanover, 45, of Tallahassee, Florida; and Carlos Rogers, 38, of Alpharetta, Georgia, each were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and two counts of health care fraud.
In addition, the government filed notice that it intended to file criminal informations charging Joseph Horn, 47, of Columbia, South Carolina, and Donald “Reche” Caldwell, 40, of Tampa, Florida, with conspiracy to commit health care fraud in the Eastern District of Kentucky.
The indictments charged that the alleged scheme to defraud involved the submission of false and fraudulent claims to the plan for expensive medical equipment – typically between $40,000 and $50,000 for each claim – that was never purchased or received. As alleged, the expensive medical equipment included hyperbaric oxygen chambers, cryotherapy machines, ultrasound machines designed for use by a doctor’s office to conduct women’s health examinations, and electromagnetic therapy devices designed for use on horses.
According to allegations in the indictments, Messrs. McCune, Eubanks, Vanover, Buckhalter, Rogers, and others recruited other players into the scheme by offering to submit or cause the submission of these false and fraudulent claims in exchange for kickbacks and bribes that ranged from a few thousand dollars to $10,000 or more per claim submitted. Prosecutors asserted that the defendants fabricated supporting documentation for the claims, including invoices, prescriptions, and letters of medical necessity. After the claims were submitted, Mr. McCune and Mr. Buckhalter allegedly called the telephone number provided by the plan and impersonated certain other players in order to check on the status of the false and fraudulent claims, the government said.