Doctor sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding NBA health plan

NEW YORK, United States - A US doctor was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for his part in a fraud scheme that involved faking almost US$500,000 in health charges to defraud the National Basketball Association (NBA) Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan.

A press release from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, (FBI) said a New York Court had heard earlier this year how between 2019 to 2020, 47-year-old William Washington, a Seattle doctor, conspired with retired NBA players, generating fraudulent invoices claiming to document nearly US$500,000 worth of medical services that he never provided.

Charges included US$10,000 office visits and US$25,000 shoulder injections.

Washington also swiped plan-issued debit cards to collect money on these fake invoices, totaling over US$450,000 which he cashed out and distributed to his co-conspirators.

He had been found guilty after a one week trial in June.

In addition to the prison sentence, Washington was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a US$20,000 fine, forfeit US$475,042, and pay restitution in the amount of US$475,042.