NEW YORK — A federal jury in Manhattan on Wednesday convicted two former National Basketball Association players over their roles in a scheme to defraud a league healthcare plan into paying millions of dollars for bogus medical procedures.
Glen Davis, 37, who played for three NBA teams and won a championship in 2008 with the Boston Celtics, was convicted on four counts including wire fraud, health care fraud, conspiring to commit fraud, and conspiring to make false statements.
Will Bynum, 40, who played for three teams including the Detroit Pistons, was found guilty of conspiring to make false statements, but acquitted on a fraud conspiracy charge.
The trial began on Nov. 1.
Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, in a statement said the convictions show that “despite notoriety or success in sports or any other field, no one is exempt from criminal charges if they engage in fraud.”
Sabrina Shroff, a lawyer for Davis, declined to comment.
Bynum’s lawyer Victor Henderson said in a statement: “We are pleased that the jury acquitted Mr. Bynum of the first count and plan to explore all aspects relating to the second count.”
At least two dozen people including 19 former NBA players, a dentist, a doctor and a chiropractor were implicated in the fraud scheme, with charges first announced in October 2021.
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