Nearly 20 former NBA players have reportedly been charged by federal authorities with insurance fraud.
Among the dozen-plus former players were several household names of yesteryear, including Sebastian Telfair, Darius Miles, six-time All-Defensive Team honoree Tony Allen, and former Celtics and Clippers reserve Glen Davis, according to Tom Winter and Jonathan Dienst of NBC News.
The retired players are accused of defrauding the NBA's benefit plan out of approximately $4 million by submitting fake reimbursement claims for medical and dental care they never received, per the report.
Miles is a native of East St. Louis who was drafted No. 3 overall in 2000 by the Los Angeles Clippers out of East St. Louis High School.
The 39-year-old declared bankruptcy in 2019 and has been a co-host of the Knuckleheads podcast with fellow NBA veteran Quentin Richardson.
Former Nets first-round draft pick Terrence Williams, who was selected 11th overall in 2009, was the alleged ringleader of the scheme, the report said.
Also among the list of former players accused in the alleged scheme were journeymen such as Chris Douglas-Roberts, Alan Anderson, Shannon Brown, Tony Wroten and Will Bynum.
The alleged scheme spanned several years, from 2017 to 2020, according to a grand jury indictment. The accused each face one charge of conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud.
The situation appears to be similar to a high-profile health care fraud case involving several former NFL players, including Clinton Portis, who was set to be sentenced in January after recently pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
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