Three former National Football League players have pleaded guilty to participating in a nationwide healthcare scheme, defrauding a healthcare benefit program intended for retired NFL players, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Robert McCune of Georgia, Clinton Portis of South Carolina, and Tamarick Vanover of Florida all pleaded guilty for participating in a scheme to defraud the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan, which reimburses medical expenses incurred by former players, as well as their spouses and their dependents, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.
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McCune stole roughly $2.9 million in false claims from the plan, with $2.5 million of those claims being paid from June 2017 to April 2018, the Justice Department said. Portis and Vanover both received money to pay expenses for medical equipment that was never provided, with Portis stealing $99,264 in benefits and Vanover, who recruited three other former NFL players to participate in the scheme, taking $159,510, the statement added.
Portis and Vanover both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud on Friday and agreed to pay full restitution to the plan, the department said. McCune pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and healthcare fraud, 13 counts of healthcare fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud, and three counts of aggravated identity theft on Aug. 24, officials added.
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Twelve other defendants charged in connection to this scheme have also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.
Portis is set to be sentenced on Jan. 6, 2022, with Vanover scheduled shortly after on Jan. 22, 2022. Both face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. McCune, who is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 19, could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
