Former Sacramento Kings guard sentenced to 10 years in prison in $5 million NBA fraud case
A former member of the Sacramento Kings is going to prison for masterminding a scheme to steal $5 million from the NBA’s health care plan.
A federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday sentenced Terrence Williams to 10 years after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors said Williams orchestrated a wide-ranging scheme to steal millions of dollars from the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan. According to the indictment, public court filings and statements made in court, Williams conspired with others to submit fraudulent claims, took kickback payments in excess of $300,000 and threatened a witness after he was arrested.
“Williams recruited medical professionals and others to expand his criminal conspiracy and maximize his ill-gotten gains,” said Damian Williams, a U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. “Williams not only lined his pockets through fraud and deceit, but he also stole the identities of others and threatened a witness to further his criminal endeavors.”
Terrence Williams, a native of Seattle, came out of Louisville as the No. 11 pick in the 2009 NBA draft. That was the year the Kings selected Tyreke Evans with the No. 4 pick and the Golden State Warriors took Stephen Curry at No. 7.
Williams spent four seasons in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets, Kings and Boston Celtics. He had a triple-double with 27 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the Nets in a double-overtime win over the Chicago Bulls on April 9, 2010.
Williams signed a 10-day contract with the Kings after being released by the Rockets in March 2012. The Kings then signed Williams for the remainder of the season.
Williams appeared in 18 games for the Kings, who went 22-44 under coach Paul Westphal in the lockout shortened 2011-12 season. Williams averaged a career-high 8.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 20.5 minutes as a reserve for a team that featured Evans, DeMarcus Cousins, Marcus Thornton, John Salmons, Jason Thompson and Isaiah Thomas.
According to authorities, Williams and more than a dozen others conspired from at least 2017 to 2021 to defraud the NBA’s health care plan using false invoices to support fraudulent claims. Williams and his co-conspirators submitted false claims totaling more than $5 million. His co-conspirators included a dentist in California and doctors in California and Washington.
Prosecutors said Williams threatened co-defendants and a witness. In April 2022, after Williams was arrested and released while awaiting trial, he sent a text message telling a witness he was “talking way (too) f---ing much” and to “shut the f--- up.”
In addition to his prison term, Williams was sentence to three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit $653,672.55 and pay restitution in the amount of $2.5 million.
