Related Federal Cases
Former NFL Players Plead Guilty to Nationwide Health Care Fraud Scheme
Three former National Football League (NFL) players have pleaded guilty to their roles in a nationwide scheme to defraud a health care benefit program for retired NFL players, the Grimy Times has learned. Clinton Portis, 40, of Fort Mill, South Carolina, and Tamarick Vanover, 47, of Tallahassee, Florida, pleaded guilty on Friday, while Robert McCune, 40, of Riverdale, Georgia, pleaded guilty on August 24.
According to court documents, Portis caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan on his behalf over a two-month period, obtaining $99,264 in benefits for expensive medical equipment that was not actually provided. Vanover recruited three other former NFL players into the fraudulent scheme and assisted them in causing false and fraudulent claims to be submitted to the Plan, obtaining $159,510 for expensive medical equipment that was not actually provided.
McCune orchestrated the nationwide fraud, which resulted in approximately $2.9 million in false and fraudulent claims being submitted to the Plan and the Plan paying out approximately $2.5 million on those claims between June 2017 and April 2018. Portis and Vanover pleaded guilty two days after a trial against them resulted in a hung jury and a mistrial on certain counts against Vanover.
All 15 defendants charged in connection with this scheme have pleaded guilty. The defendants, including former NFL players Joseph Horn, Correll Buckhalter, Carlos Rogers, James Butler, Etric Pruitt, Ceandris Brown, John Eubanks, Antwan Odom, Darrell Reid, Anthony Montgomery, Fredrick Bennett, and Donald ‘Reche’ Caldwell, who passed away in June 2020, have agreed to pay full restitution to the Plan.
Portis and Vanover face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and are scheduled to be sentenced on January 6 and January 22, 2022, respectively. McCune pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud, 13 counts of health care fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud, and three counts of aggravated identity theft and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI and included efforts by various FBI Field Offices and Resident Agencies. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky; and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.
The Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan was established pursuant to the NFL’s 2006 collective bargaining agreement and 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 spouses, and their dependents – up to a maximum of $350,000 per player.
The investigation and prosecution of this case demonstrate the FBI’s commitment to protecting the financial well-being of retired NFL players and their families from those who would seek to defraud them.
Key Facts
- State: Kentucky
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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