Glen “Big Baby” Davis was part of the 2008 Boston Celtics team that won the NBA title. But things have spiraled for the former Celtics big man.
Davis was part of an insurance fraud ring with several other NBA players. On May 9, he was sentenced to 40 Months in prison.
Glen Davis Sentence to 40 Months in Jail
Davis retired in 2015. At his sentencing, he said that after losing basketball, he began to lose his sense of self-awareness.
“When I lost basketball, I lost myself,” he said to Judge Valerie E. Caproni before he was sentenced. “I ask you, your honor, to help me get back to who I am.”
Former Nets draft pick Terrence Williams, who played with the franchise from 2009-10, was the named ringleader of the scam. Williams recruited other players to join his scheme, according to a DOJ press release.
Authorities say Williams “orchestrated the scheme to defraud” the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan. So he provided other players and one of their spouses with “false invoices to support their fraudulent claims.”
The invoices were used in claims for reimbursement for chiropractic, dental, and other “wellness” care in California and Washington that was not actually performed. In exchange, the DOJ said, the other defendants paid Williams kickbacks totaling at least $230,000.
Players Reimbursed For Services They Never Received
The multimillion-dollar swindle was centered around players receiving reimbursements for medical services that they never received, according to the DOJ. All of the defendants are charged with federal crimes and were then scheduled to be arraigned in various federal courts around the country. Many of the cases are still ongoing.
According to the indictment, in November 2017 Williams submitted a false claim totaling $19,000 in charges from a chiropractic office and was reimbursed more than $7,600 for the claim.
Authorities allege Williams then began recruiting other former NBA players, offering “to provide fraudulent invoices … for medical and/or dental services that they did not receive and for which they did not pay” in exchange for kickbacks to Williams, according to the indictment. Williams also provided fraudulent letters purporting to be from medical professionals to support the claims, according to the indictment.