The ringleader of a scheme to defraud a healthcare benefit program for retired NFL players was sentenced to five years in prison, the Justice Department said Feb. 9.
Robert McCune, who played for the Washington Commanders, pleaded guilty to submitting false claims to the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan for himself and on behalf of several other retired NFL players. Mr. McCune filed 68 claims for 51 other players between June 15, 2017, and April 12, 2018.
Claims were usually filed for medical equipment such as hyperbaric oxygen chambers, ultrasound machines and electromagnetic therapy devices. The products were never purchased or received. The sum of the fraudulent claims among Mr. McCune and his alleged co-conspirators was about $2.9 million.
Mr. McCune had been charged with and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of healthcare fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft.
Thirteen other defendants have been sentenced for their participation in the scheme, the Justice Department said.