Damian Williams, america Lawyer for the Southern District of New York, introduced in the present day that KEYON DOOLING and ALAN ANDERSON have been sentenced to 30 months and 24 months in jail, respectively, for his or her roles in a scheme to defraud the Nationwide Basketball Affiliation (“NBA”) Gamers’ Well being and Welfare Profit Plan (the “Plan”). U.S. District Decide Valerie E. Caproni sentenced DOOLING in the present day and beforehand sentenced ANDERSON on February 10, 2023.
U.S. Lawyer Damian Williams stated: “These former gamers recruited others to participate on this widespread fraud scheme and went to nice lengths to maintain the scheme operating easily, facilitating tons of of 1000’s of {dollars} of fraudulent claims. This Workplace will proceed to aggressively prosecute these engaged in well being care fraud schemes, it doesn’t matter what their occupation. These contemplating submitting false claims to well being care plans ought to acknowledge that they are going to be topic to severe penalties.”
In accordance with the Indictments, public court docket filings, and statements made in court docket:
The Plan is a well being care plan offering advantages to eligible energetic and former gamers of the NBA. DOOLING and ANDERSON each performed within the NBA and have been eligible to obtain reimbursements from the Plan for reliable, qualifying medical bills.
Co-defendant TERRENCE WILLIAMS orchestrated the scheme to defraud the Plan.[1] DOOLING and ANDERSON additionally occupied managerial roles within the scheme.
WILLIAMS, DOOLING, and ANDERSON recruited different former NBA gamers to defraud the Plan, together with by providing to offer them with false invoices to assist their fraudulent claims.
WILLIAMS offered the opposite former NBA gamers faux invoices from a specific chiropractic workplace in California, run by co-defendant PATRICK KHAZIRAN,[2] which have been created by people working with WILLIAMS. As well as, WILLIAMS obtained fraudulent invoices from a dentist affiliated with dental places of work in Beverly Hills, California, run by co-defendant AAMIR WAHAB, and from a physician at a wellness workplace in Washington State. The fraudulent invoices presupposed to doc that ANDERSON, different co-defendants, and, in some circumstances, members of their households, had been recipients of high-priced medical and dental providers, however the defendants had not acquired the medical or dental providers described within the invoices WILLIAMS offered them. In lots of cases, the defendants weren’t even positioned within the neighborhood of the service suppliers on the dates the invoices acknowledged they acquired medical or dental providers. Specifically, GPS location data and documentary proof, corresponding to flight information, present that the defendants have been in places apart from the neighborhood of the medical or dental places of work falsely claimed because the suppliers of providers.
DOOLING participated within the scheme from at the very least in or about 2017 by in or about 2019. DOOLING traded on his repute amongst present and former NBA gamers to refer different former NBA gamers to co-defendant KHAZIRAN and WAHAB. DOOLING additionally recruited and tried to recruit further Plan-participants and medical professionals into the fraud scheme. DOOLING himself submitted fraudulent invoices to the Plan, regarding providers purportedly carried out by co-defendants KHAZIRAN and WAHAB. DOOLING acquired roughly $363,000 in fraudulent reimbursements, and he’s liable for facilitating the fraudulent claims filed by different defendants, who acquired roughly $194,295 in fraudulent proceeds from the plan.
ANDERSON additionally recruited a number of former NBA gamers to the fraud scheme. When co-conspirators encountered difficulties in acquiring reimbursements for fraudulent claims, ANDERSON inspired them to submit cast letters of medical necessity to substantiate these claims. When these letters have been unsuccessful, ANDERSON organized for the co-conspirators to go to a Las Vegas physician, after-hours, to additional try to justify the fraudulent claims. ANDERSON himself submitted roughly $121,000 in fraudulent claims to the Plan. ANDERSON can be liable for recruiting and facilitating the fraud of further defendants who sought roughly $710,000 in fraudulent claims.
* * *
Along with their jail phrases, DOOLING, 42, of Orlando, Florida, was ordered to forfeit $449,250.50 and pay restitution of $547,495; and ANDERSON, 40, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was ordered to forfeit $121,000 and pay restitution of $121,000.
Mr. Williams praised the excellent investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The prosecution of this case is being dealt with by the Workplace’s Complicated Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan B. Finkel and Daniel G. Nessim are in command of the prosecution.
