Three Former NFL Players Plead Guilty In Million-Dollar Healthcare Scheme

Three former NFL players; Clinton Portis, Tamarick Vanover, and Robert McCune, have pleaded guilty to defrauding healthcare providers with false claims for over $3,000,000.

Source: Andy Lyons / Getty

The life of a professional sports player is usually filled with highs and and post-career lows. When you put it in perspective, most sports professionals have been accustomed to being in the spotlight since middle school. The thing about the lows is, aside from injury, most of the time, the lows come towards the end of the career and thereafter, with no preparation beforehand. No matter how a career ends, leaving something that’s been all you’ve known since a kid can impact mental health in ways you didn’t know existed.

One of the biggest aspects of any sports profession is adjusting to the change of income. Many haven’t set themselves up for life post-career and sometimes end up in legal troubles, taking risks that are not worth the reward like going to jail.

This was the case recently for three former NFL players: Clinton Portis, Tamarick Vanover, and Robert McCune.

The Justice Department revealed that the trio engaged in a scheme to defraud healthcare titled “The Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan.” The plan was set up to give tax-free reimbursement to former players for out-of-pocket medical expenses that insurance won’t cover. Of course, things went left when they submitted fraudulent claims for the most expensive medical equipment such as hyperbaric oxygen chambers and ultrasound machines. From fabricated invoices to prescriptions, it’s safe to say they weren’t too clever with this scheme.

The total for claims reached around $3 million dollars, leading the trio to plead guilty. McCune is set to be sentenced on November 19 while Portis and Vanover will face sentencing on January 6 and January 22, respectively. All three men are facing between 10 to 20 years.

YIKES!