Sep 29, 2020Athletic Trainer Indicted with Former NFL Players in Health Care Scam
A Houston-based athletic trainer and eight former NFL players were recently indicted on a health care scheme that defrauded an NFL player trust fund, according to a report from the FortWorth Star-Telegram.
Louis Ray, owner of the Rehab Express rehabilitation facility in the Lone Star state, is accused of creating fraudulent invoices that claimed to perform treatments on players from 2016 to 2018. According to the report, the former NFL players submitted $723,826 worth of false reimbursement claims.
The former NFL players that were indicted include Corey Bradford, James Adkisson, Shantee Orr, Clint Ingram, Jonathan Hadnot Jr., Chadwick Slaughter, Derrick Pope, and Fabian Washington.
“This fund was created to help former players get medical services, and cheating the system means they were stealing from other players and former teammates,” Kim Ogg, district attorney for Harris County, Texas, said in a news release. “Investigating and seeking justice for white-collar criminals takes time, effort, and cooperation among agencies, and we want to thank them for uncovering this scheme.”
Ray received nearly $113,000 through the screen, according to Ogg’s office.
“The players would then sign and submit forms to be reimbursed by the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Plan, a health-reimbursement account,” according to the news release. “The players are accused of pocketing the reimbursement money and paying Ray for signing and verifying the fake invoices.”
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Two of the players were former Houston Texans, while the rest were journeyman players, jumping around from team to team.
“Health insurance scams are insidious because that kind of fraud leads to higher premiums for everyone else,” special assistant district attorney Rick Watson said in the news release. “Not only does it increase the rates, but it costs a lot of taxpayer money to investigate these.”
To read the full story from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, click here.
