Former NBA player Terrence Williams has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role as the ringleader for a group that stole money from the NBA.
On Thursday, the United States Attorney's Office announced that Williams would serve 10 years in prison for defrauding the NBA health and welfare benefit plan out of more than $5 million. The benefit plan is supposed to serve eligible active and former NBA players and their family members.
In addition to the 10-year sentence, Williams will also have to serve three years of supervised release, a forfeiture of $653,672.55, and $2.5 million in restitution. The former NBA player has been sitting in a Brooklyn jail cell since Spring 2022 due to threatening witnesses. In August 2022, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare and wire fraud, as well as aggravated identity theft.
"Williams led a wide-ranging scheme to steal millions of dollars from the NBA Players' Health and Welfare Benefit Plan," U.S. attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "Williams recruited medical professionals and others to expand his criminal conspiracy and maximize his ill-gotten gains.
"Williams not only lined his pockets through fraud and deceit, but he also stole the identities of others and threatened a witness to further his criminal endeavors. For his brazen criminal acts, Williams now faces years in prison."
Williams was one of 18 former NBA players indicted in 2021 and accused of recruiting several other retired players into making false medical reimbursement claims for procedures that never happened between 2017 to 2020. The 36-year-old also impersonated health plan administrative managers and attempted to threaten one of his co-defendants into rejoining the scheme.
Williams spent six seasons in the NBA, last playing in 2013. He was selected No. 11 in the 2009 draft by what was then the New Jersey Nets. Additionally, he played for the Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, Boston Celtics, and two seasons for several overseas teams.
