2 ex-NBA players sentenced to prison for their roles in $4M fraudulent benefits scheme
Keyon Dooling received a 30-month sentence and Alan Anderson got a 24-month sentence
Former NBA players Alan Anderson and Keyon Dooling have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a fraud scheme involving the NBA's health and welfare benefits plan.
According to a release from the United States Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York, Anderson was sentenced to 24 months and Dooling was sentenced to 30 months by Judge Valerie E. Caproni.
Dooling received approximately $363,000 in fraudulent reimbursements and is said to have been responsible for facilitating fraudulent claims filed by other individuals in the scheme totaling $194,295.
Anderson was among 18 former players charged in October 2021 for a scheme that involved approximately $4 million in fraudulent claims. Anderson submitted $121,000 in those claims and also allegedly recruited others into the scheme, facilitating $710,000 worth of claims.
Anderson, 40, played in the league from 2005-07 and 2011-17. He ended his career with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Dooling, 42, was added to the case and arrested in April 2022. He played with seven different teams over 13 seasons in the NBA from 2000-2013 and retired after a season with the Memphis Grizzlies.
At the time of his arrest, Dooling was working as an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz organization. He was the first vice president of the National Basketball Players Association and was a union officer for eight years.
Dooling was also a wellness counselor for the NBPA during the summer of 2020, advocating for mental health resources when the league restarted the season in the Orlando bubble amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 18 original defendants, including Anderson and former Celtics player Glen “Big Baby” Davis, allegedly engaged in the scheme from at least 2017 to around 2020 by submitting "fake reimbursement claims for medical and dental services that were never actually rendered," according to the 2021 indictment.
Prosecutors alleged that former NBA player Terrence Williams orchestrated the scheme and recruited other players to join by offering fake invoices and allegedly received $230,000 in kickbacks.
Williams, 36, was selected 11th overall in the 2009 NBA draft by the then-New Jersey Nets and played in the NBA until 2013.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Williams pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to a count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years. In addition the prison time, he agreed to pay restitution of $2,500,000 to the welfare plan and to forfeit $653,672.55 to the United States.
