Basketball players implicated in defrauding the NBA: diving into who and how

It’s hard to imagine players actively involved in a white-collar crime scheme in professional sports, but that’s exactly what a group of ballers tried to get over on the NBA. Certain parties have even had to serve prison time, and additional players were convicted in the scam. We’ll delve into who was involved and how they initially pulled it off. All NBA statistics are sourced from Basketball Reference.

The crux of the issue revolves around fictional medical services that players told the NBA they needed. The NBA Health and Welfare Benefit Plan was the target of their claims, and were allegedly duped for around $5 million, according to Insurance Business America.

The operation involved medical professionals who would “validate” the medical services being requested, according to the United States Department of Justice website.

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Perhaps not wanting to appear like they weren’t interested in taking care of their own, the NBA honored the claims that nearly 20 former players made under this umbrella. They would then pocket the funding, and it seems likely that the medical professionals that aided them received a cut as well.

It’s been revealed that Williams was the ringleader of the process. He played in the NBA for four seasons. For his role in the crime, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and was forced to return $650,000 while also paying $2.5 million in restitution, according to Fortune's website.

This was a stunning fall from grace for a player who starred at Louisville, where he was a three-time All Big East performer.

The former point guard was also implicated in the investigation, and sentenced to 30 months in jail, according to USA Today. He spent 13 years in the league, including four seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Dooling also held an executive position with the NBA Players Association, and served as a counselor for current players.

Anderson received a slightly lighter punishment than Dooling, as the former was sentenced to 24 months in prison. He allegedly submitted over $120,000 in bogus claims, and was involved in recruiting other players to join the scheme, according to CBS Sports.

Anderson played in the NBA for eight years, which included a four-year hiatus after his first two campaigns.

According to Bleacher Report, the former All-NBA defender was able to skirt jail time. Allen was instead sentenced to community service and supervision, as he reportedly paid back the majority of the $420,000 he received illegally.

Allen is likely most remembered for his time with the Memphis Grizzlies, who established a hard-nosed identity with the guard pressuring opponents on the perimeter.

More recently, the investigation convicted additional players involved in the scheme. Davis, playfully nicknamed “Big Baby” during his time in the league, also found himself in the devious web, according to CBS News.

During his rookie year, he was part of the 2008 Boston Celtics championship team, which Allen also ironically played for.

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Included in the newer batch of players caught in controversy was Bynum, who spent eight seasons in the NBA, most notably for the Detroit Pistons.

The point guard also played professionally in China and Israel.