18 former NBA players have been arrested and charged with defrauding the NBA’s health and welfare benefit plan out of $4 million, federal prosecutors say.
Shannon Brown, pictured with ex-wife Monica Arnold in 2015, was indicted on October 7 by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York on charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.
Brown, 35, retired from the NBA in 2018 after 12 seasons. Monica, 40, divorced him a year later.
17 other former NBA players, including Sebastian Telfair, Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Darius Miles, were also charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.
Federal prosecutors say the retired NBA stars filed fraudulent insurance claims for reimbursement to the tune of $4 million. Of that amount, the players took in $2.5 million, according to prosecutors.
Sebastian Telfair, 36, was seen departing the Federal Court in the Southern District of NY with an ankle monitor after being indicted by a federal grand jury on October 7 in New York City. He retired from the NBA in 2017 after playing 13 seasons.
The other seventeen defendants were also equipped with ankle monitors.
In this August 25, 2019 file photo, Glen “Big Baby” Davis, right, fights off defender Donte Greene during the BIG3 Playoffs in New Orleans, Louisiana. Davis retired from the NBA in 2019 after 12 seasons.
Davis, 35, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York on charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.
On February 7, 2018, Davis was arrested and charged with drug possession and drug distribution after police found marijuana and a briefcase containing $92,000 in cash inside his hotel room in Aberdeen, Maryland.
The drug charges against Davis were later dropped in exchange for a plea deal.
