Portis among former NFL stars charged with fraud

WASHINGTON Federal authorities on Thursday charged 10 former NFL players for allegedly defrauding a health-care program of more than US$3.4 million by filing false claims for hyperbaric oxygen chambers and other expensive medical equipment.

Former Washington running back Clinton Portis, 38, and former cornerback Carlos Rogers, 38, were among those charged by the U.S. Justice Department. Portis declared bankruptcy in 2015, court records show. He sued the NFL in 2013, claiming the league failed to tell him he risked brain damage.

U.S. authorities also said they plan to file charges against Joe Horn, 47, who at one point held the New Orleans Saints record for touchdown catches.

Brian Benczkowski, head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, said the former players filed false claims for expensive equipment like oxygen chambers, cryotherapy machines and electromagnetic therapy devices designed to be used on horses.

Those devices, which typically cost up to $50,000, were never purchased, he said.

Ringleaders of the scheme took kickbacks or bribes of up to $10,000 from other former players to help carry it out, he said.

“By defrauding the plan and treating it like their own personal ATM machine, sadly, the defendants placed the plan’s tax-exempt status at risk,” Benczkowski said.

The alleged scheme targeted the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan, which was set up in 2006 to help retired players cover medical expenses. No current NFL players are believed to be involved in the scheme, Benczkowski said.

Three other former players — Robert Mccune, John Eubanks and Ceandris Brown — also were arrested, while the other six defendants surrendered voluntarily.