Washington, DC – Several former National Football League (NFL) players, including former Redskin Pro Bowl running back Clinton Portis, have been charged with trying to defraud the league’s health care program for retired players.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has indicted Portis, Carlos Rogers, Robert McCune, John Eubanks, Tamarick Vanover, Ceandris Brown, James Butler, Frederick Bennett, Correll Buckhalter, and Etric Pruitt so far, FOX News reported.

The government has said it planned to also charge former NFL players Joe Horn and Reche Caldwell with conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

“The defendants are alleged to have developed and executed a fraudulent scheme to undermine a health care benefit plan established by the NFL – one established to help their former teammates and colleagues pay for legitimate medical expenses,” said U.S. Attorney Robert M. Duncan Jr., for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

“The defendants allegedly submitted false claims to the plan and obtained money for expensive medical equipment that was never purchased or received, depriving that plan of valuable resources to help others meet their medical needs,” Duncan said.

The NFL established the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan in 2006 to provide tax-free reimbursement for medical expenses that were not covered by insurance that were incurred by former players or their immediate family members, FOX News reported.

Prosecutors have alleged that the group of former football players tried to charge made-up expenses for expensive health equipment to the NFL’s health care plan so they could get tax-free reimbursements.

Federal documents showed that, collectively, the charged players submitted more than $3.9 million in fraudulent medical claims between June 2017 and June 2018 for hyperbaric oxygen chambers, cryotherapy machines, ultrasound machines, and electromagnetic therapy devices that were designed to be used on a horse, FOX News reported.

The fake claims for expensive equipment ran $40,000 to $50,000 each.

The players who first participated in the fraud are accused of recruiting other players to participate and asking for kickbacks or bribes as payment, FOX News reported.

The bribes ranged from a few thousand dollars up to as much as $10,000 per successful fraudulent claim.

Portis, Brown, Butler, and Bennett have each been 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, according to FOX News.

McCune has been 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.

Eubanks, Vanover, and Rogers have each been 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, according to FOX News.

And Buckhalter and Pruitt have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud.

Portis was by far the most high-profile of the former football stars to be charged, FOX News reported.

He played nine seasons for the Washington Redskins and made $43.1 million over his career in salary and bonuses.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday announced that it has charged 10 former NFL players with fraud for allegedly submitting false claims for medical equipment totaling $3.9 million to a health benefits program for former players.

Your cheat sheets for understanding health care’s legal landscape

Details on the charges

DOJ has charged the former players with making fraudulent claims to the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan. The plan provides tax-free reimbursement for out-of-pocket medical expenses incurred by former NFL players, their spouses, and their dependents.

The former players allegedly created false documentation—including invoices, prescriptions, and letters of medical need—to make claims for medical equipment, including hyperbaric oxygen chambers, cryotherapy devices, ultrasound equipment used in doctors’ offices for imaging on pregnant women, and electromagnetic therapy devices designed for horses, DOJ said. The claims the were typically between $40,000 to $50,000, according to DOJ.

DOJ said some of the players acted as “ringleaders” in the scheme, recruiting other former players to submit claims for kickbacks and bribes that in some cases reached more than $10,000 per claim. Two of the players even called the health benefits plan impersonating other players to check on the claims, DOJ said.

In total, DOJ said more than $3.9 million in false claims were filed, and the plan paid out more than $3.4 million between June 2017 and December 2018.

The fraud was detected by plan administrator Cigna, which became suspicious of the claims and alerted DOJ’s medical fraud division.

The indictments, which were filed in federal court by the Eastern District of Kentucky, are against:

• Clinton Portis, former Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos running back;
• Robert McCune, former Redskins linebacker;
• John Eubanks, former Redskins cornerback;
• Tamarick Vanover, former Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers wide receiver;
• Ceandris “C.C.” Brown, former Houston Texans safety;
• James Butler, former New York Giants and St. Louis Rams safety;
• Fredrick Bennett, former Texans defensive back;
• Etric Pruitt, former Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks defensive back;
• Carlos Rogers, former Redskins and San Francisco 49ers cornerback; and
• Correll Buckhalter, former Philadelphia Eagles running back.

In addition, DOJ intends to charge former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Joe Horn and former San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots wide receiver Donald “Reche” Caldwell with conspiracy, according to the New York Times.

Reaction

Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said, “By defrauding the plan and treating it like their own personal ATM machine, sadly, the defendants placed the plan’s tax-exempt status at risk and threatened the ability of law-abiding former players to continue to receive tax-free reimbursements for legitimate medical expenses for themselves or their families.”

George Piro, special agent in charge of the FBI‘s Miami Field Office, said the charges “serv[e] as an illustration of the rampant and deliberate scams against health care plans occurring daily throughout the country.”

Mark Dycio, an attorney for Portis, said Portis “had no knowledge that his participation in what he believed to be an NFL sanctioned medical reimbursement program was illegal. He is completely taken aback by this indictment and will move forward with the process of clearing his good name and those of his fellow NFL alumni” (Mangan, CNBC, 12/12; Belson, New York Times, 12/12; Fernandez, Axios, 12/12; Levenson et al., CNN, 12/12; DOJ release, 12/12).

Ten former NFL players were charged Dec. 12 for allegedly defrauding a health benefits plan for retired players, according to the Department of Justice.

Five things to know:

1. Former players from the Washington Redskins, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles and other NFL teams are accused of submitting $3.9 million worth of false claims to The Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan, which the NFL established in 2006 to help retired players pay out-of-pocket medical expenses.

2. From June 2017 to December 2018, the former players allegedly billed the plan for medical equipment that wasn’t actually purchased, such as ultrasound machines and hyperbaric chambers. The plan paid out over $3.4 million on those claims.

3. Cigna flagged the claims as potentially fraudulent due to “anomalies” and notified federal investigators, CNN reported.

4. The following former players face charges including conspiracy, wire fraud and healthcare fraud:

• Clinton Portis (Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos)
• Robert McCune (Washington Redskins)
• Carlos Rogers (Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers)
• John Eubanks (Washington Redskins)
• Tamarick Vanover (Kansas City Chiefs)
• Fred Bennett (Houston Texans)
• Ceandris “C.C.” Brown (Houston Texans)
• Correll Buckhalter (Philadelphia Eagles)
• James Butler (St. Louis Rams, New York Giants)
• Etric Pruitt (Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks)

5. The federal government is still investigating two other players. Authorities plan to file charges against Joseph Horn, who played for the New Orleans Saints, and Donald “Reche” Caldwell, who played for the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots.

More articles on sports medicine: 
Expert testimony fails to prove malpractice in 2 neurosurgeries, court rules
Drs. Frank Phillips, Keith Black & more: 10 spine, neurosurgeons making headlines
Dr. Jeffrey Roh to host Seattle fundraiser for presidential hopeful Andrew Yang