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Clinton Portis among ex-NFL players accused of fraud
By David K. Li
Ten former NFL players, including former Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis, are accused of defrauding a league health care program by submitting fake invoices for medical equipment, including a hyperbaric chamber, which they never actually purchased, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
The retired players got $3.4 million in reimbursements from a fund that reimburses former NFL athletes for out-of-pocket health care expenses, prosecutors said.
"A group of former players brazenly defrauded the plan by seeking reimbursements for... expensive medical equipment that they never purchased," Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski told reporters.
"Things like hyperbaric oxygen chambers, ultrasound machines used by doctors offices to conduct women's health exams and even electromagnetic therapy devices designed for use on horses."
The players submitted forms for $3.9 million in reimbursements and received $3.4 million between June 2017 and December 2018, officials said.
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The 38-year-old Portis was the best known former player among those charged by the Justice Department. Portis played nine seasons in the NFL, from 2002 through 2010, and rushed for more than 1,000 yards in six of those years.
Portis has struggled in his post-playing life, having filed for bankruptcy in 2015. The retired running back once told Sports Illustrated magazine that he considering murdering the men he believed mismanaged his $43.1 million in career earnings.
Portis’ attorney, Mark Dycio, said his client only referred players to the plan and did nothing wrong.
“Mr. Portis believed to be participating in a healthcare program sanctioned by the NFL,” Dycio told NBC News shortly after the charges were announced. “He’s completely taken aback by the indictment and looks forward to clearing his name.”
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/clinton-portis-among-former-nfl-players-accused-fraud-against-league-n1100641?cid=eml_nbn_20191212
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