Former NFL running back sentenced for role in health care fraud

Former National Football League (NFL) running back Clinton Portis has been sentenced to serve six months in prison and six months of home detention after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, USA Today reported.

Portis signed a plea agreement in September, admitting to participating in a scheme to defraud a health care program for retired NFL players and their families by filing false reimbursement claims, according to a statement from the Department of Justice (DOJ). At the time, 14 other players had also pleaded guilty in connection with the scheme.

Portis entered his guilty plea just days after his criminal trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky concluded with the jury saying they could not reach a verdict, according to USA Today.

According to his plea agreement, Portis admitted to participating in a nationwide scheme with other former NFL players where they filed reimbursement claims under the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan, according to USA Today.

The Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan, which was established through the league's 2006 collective bargaining agreement, allows former players to request tax-free reimbursement for out-of-pocket medical expenses that are not covered by insurance.

According to the DOJ, Portis allowed former teammate Robert McCune to submit fraudulent claims on his behalf for an oxygen chamber and a cryotherapy sauna.

Portis, 40, obtained $99,264 in benefits from the league's plan but never purchased the equipment, the DOJ reported.

The charges against Portis carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

According to an ESPN report, the DOJ said it sought a longer sentence in the case within the recommended 10 to 16 month range because Portis maintained that he was not guilty until he faced a retrial following the hung jury.

The DOJ also noted that Portis never paid back the money he had received as a result of his reimbursement claims to the health care plan until shortly before his sentencing, ESPN reported.

Portis played for the Washington Football Team and the Denver Broncos during his nine-year professional career, participating in two Pro Bowls and becoming a fan favorite for his impersonations of various characters during media interviews.

The Charlotte Observer reported that the running back's attorneys urged U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell to follow her earlier decisions in the case and sentence Portis to time served, using former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Joe Horn's November sentencing as an example.

Portis, Horn and McCune, along with Carlos Rogers, Correll Buckhalter, Donald "Reche" Caldwell, ​​Anthony Montgomery and Darrell Reid, have all pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme, USA Today reported.

Portis is expected to report to prison in March.