Doctor Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For Defrauding The NBA Players’ Health And Welfare Benefit Plan
summary
Dr. William Washington was sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan through a scheme involving fraudulent medical invoices.
paragraph
Dr. William Washington was sentenced to five years in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in a healthcare fraud scheme. He generated fraudulent invoices for unperformed medical services totaling nearly $500,000, including fake office visits and shoulder injections. The court ordered Washington to pay a $20,000 fine and provided for the forfeiture and restitution of $475,042.
narrative
Dr. William Washington, a licensed medical doctor operating clinics in the Seattle area, was sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan. Between 2019 and July 2020, Washington conspired with retired NBA players to generate fraudulent invoices for medical services that were never performed, such as $10,000 office visits and $25,000 shoulder injections. He used Plan-issued debit cards to collect over $450,000 from these fake charges, which he then distributed to his co-conspirators. Following his June 2024 conviction, U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni sentenced him to three years of supervised release. In addition to prison time, Washington was ordered to pay a $20,000 fine and must forfeit and pay restitution in the amount of $475,042. The investigation was conducted by the FBI and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
Classified health-care-fraud(confidence 100%). No EDGAR filing fingerprint (criminal/DOJ-side scheme). detection rule →
Parties
Federal Bureau of Investigationfraudulent invoicesoutstanding investigative workwilliam washington
Keywords
washingtonplanplayers healthhealth welfarewelfare benefitbenefit planlinkdoctor prisonprison defraudinggovernment non-governmentnon-government sitessites typicallytypically appearappear externalexternal link
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 6
- $500K $500,000 $100K–$1M
- $475K $475,042 $100K–$1M
- $450K $450,000 $100K–$1M
- $25K $25,000 $10K–$100K
- $20K $20,000 $10K–$100K
- $10K $10,000 $10K–$100K
Entities 4
- agency Federal Bureau of Investigation
- person fraudulent invoices
- person outstanding investigative work
- person william washington
Triples 13
- William Washington Sentenced To Five Years In Prison
- William Washington Was Convicted On June 28, 2024
- William Washington Generated Fraudulent Invoices
- William Washington Used His License And Clinics
- William Washington Pocketed Nearly A Half-Million Dollars
- William Washington Swiped Plan-Issued Debit Cards
- William Washington Received Over $450,000 From The Plan
- William Washington Was Ordered To Pay A $20,000 Fine
- William Washington Forfeit $475,042
- William Washington Pay Restitution In The Amount Of $475,042
- U.S. Attorney Damian Williams Announced William Washington Was Sentenced To Five Years In Prison
- U.S. Attorney Damian Williams Said Those Who Engage In Health Care Fraud Schemes Will Face Stringent Penalties
- Federal Bureau Of Investigation Conducted Outstanding Investigative Work
Extracted body text (3,436c)
Press Release Doctor Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For Defrauding The NBA Players’ Health And Welfare Benefit Plan Monday, November 25, 2024 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that WILLIAM WASHINGTON was sentenced today to five years in prison for his participation in a scheme to defraud the National Basketball Association (“NBA”) Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan (the “Plan”). WASHINGTON was convicted on June 28, 2024, following a one-week jury trial and was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni.U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “William Washington, a licensed medical doctor, had a solemn responsibility not to abuse his position of trust. Instead, Washington used his license and his clinics to generate fraudulent invoices for medical services he never performed. Over just one year, Washington pocketed nearly a half-million dollars for himself and his co-conspirators. Today’s sentence sends a clear message that those who engage in health care fraud schemes, particularly medical providers, will face stringent penalties.”According to the Indictment and the evidence at trial:From approximately in or about 2019 through July 2020, WASHINGTON, a licensed medical doctor who operated medical clinics located in the Seattle, Washington-area, participated in a scheme with retired NBA players to defraud the Plan. In furtherance of the scheme, WASHINGTON generated fraudulent invoices purporting to document nearly $500,000 worth of medical services that he never provided – such as $10,000 office visits and $25,000 shoulder injections – and repeatedly lied to the Plan by claiming that he had performed those services. WASHINGTON also swiped Plan-issued debit cards to collect money on these fake invoices. As a result of these debit card swipes, WASHINGTON received over $450,000 from the Plan, which he cashed out and distributed to his co-conspirators. * * *In addition to the prison sentence, WASHINGTON, 47, of Seattle, Washington, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine, forfeit $475,042, and pay restitution in the amount of $475,042.Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rushmi Bhaskaran, Qais Ghafary, and Rebecca Delfiner represented the Government at trial. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Finkel and Daniel G. Nessim participated in the investigation and prosecution of this case. Contact Nicholas Biase, Shelby Wratchford(212) 637-2600 Updated November 25, 2024 Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 24-363
OCR text (3,436c · html-text · 99% conf)
Press Release Doctor Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For Defrauding The NBA Players’ Health And Welfare Benefit Plan Monday, November 25, 2024 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that WILLIAM WASHINGTON was sentenced today to five years in prison for his participation in a scheme to defraud the National Basketball Association (“NBA”) Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan (the “Plan”). WASHINGTON was convicted on June 28, 2024, following a one-week jury trial and was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni.U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “William Washington, a licensed medical doctor, had a solemn responsibility not to abuse his position of trust. Instead, Washington used his license and his clinics to generate fraudulent invoices for medical services he never performed. Over just one year, Washington pocketed nearly a half-million dollars for himself and his co-conspirators. Today’s sentence sends a clear message that those who engage in health care fraud schemes, particularly medical providers, will face stringent penalties.”According to the Indictment and the evidence at trial:From approximately in or about 2019 through July 2020, WASHINGTON, a licensed medical doctor who operated medical clinics located in the Seattle, Washington-area, participated in a scheme with retired NBA players to defraud the Plan. In furtherance of the scheme, WASHINGTON generated fraudulent invoices purporting to document nearly $500,000 worth of medical services that he never provided – such as $10,000 office visits and $25,000 shoulder injections – and repeatedly lied to the Plan by claiming that he had performed those services. WASHINGTON also swiped Plan-issued debit cards to collect money on these fake invoices. As a result of these debit card swipes, WASHINGTON received over $450,000 from the Plan, which he cashed out and distributed to his co-conspirators. * * *In addition to the prison sentence, WASHINGTON, 47, of Seattle, Washington, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine, forfeit $475,042, and pay restitution in the amount of $475,042.Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rushmi Bhaskaran, Qais Ghafary, and Rebecca Delfiner represented the Government at trial. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Finkel and Daniel G. Nessim participated in the investigation and prosecution of this case. Contact Nicholas Biase, Shelby Wratchford(212) 637-2600 Updated November 25, 2024 Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 24-363