Page 27 - Florida Sentinel 10-15-21

Sports
18 NBA Veterans Arrested In Alleged $4M Health Insurance Fraud Scheme
More than a dozen former NBA players were charged in an alleged multi-million dollar health insurance fraud scheme to rip off the league's benefit plan, with a former Nets player as the ringleader.
Tyson Fury Knocks Out Deontay Wilder In Classic Heavyweight War To Retain Titles
More than a dozen former NBA players have been charged in New York federal court in an alleged multi-mil- lion-dollar health insurance fraud scheme to rip off the league's benefit plan, accord- ing to an indictment unsealed in the Southern District on Thursday.
The 18 former players named in the indictment in- clude alleged scheme ring- leader Terrence Williams, selected 11th overall in the 2009 NBA draft by the then- New Jersey Nets, six-time NBA All-Defensive Team member Tony Allen, former Lakers Guard Shannon Brown and Ronald Glen "Big Baby" Davis, who played for the Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic and Los Ange- les Clippers over the course of his career.
Allen's wife, Desiree Allen, is the only woman charged in the indictment.
All were charged with con- spiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, which carries the potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Williams was also charged with aggravated identity theft,
which carries a potential penalty of up to two years in prison.
By late morning, 16 of them were in custody after ar- rests in a dozen locations na- tionwide. The FBI said "this remains an ongoing investiga- tion," though it was not clear if more arrests were expected.
According to the grand jury indictment, the defendants al- legedly engaged in a wide- spread scheme from at least 2017 up to around 2020 to de- fraud the NBA Players' Health and Welfare Benefit Plan by submitting fake reimburse- ment claims for medical and dental services that were never actually rendered.
In some cases, the players who submitted the alleged false claims weren't even in the United States at the times they allegedly received the treat- ments. They allegedly filed fake invoices saying they had to pay for the phantom proce- dures out of pocket.
Those allegedly fraudulent claims totaled about $3.9 mil- lion, from which the defen- dants got about $2.5 million in fraudulent proceeds, the in- dictment alleges.
George Peter-
son -- AKA
"Da Bull" -- unexpectedly
passed away
last week at 37,
just days before
he was sched-
uled to compete
in a top bodybuilding competi- tion.
Peterson was in Orlando when he died -- preparing for the Olympia competition -- which kicked off last Wednes- day.
The cause of George's death is not yet clear, but his coach and close friend, Justin Miller -- who found Peterson deceased -- provided additional details on his death.
Miller says Peterson was in incredible spirits the night before he died ... and was pumped for the upcoming com- petition.
However, the next day, Miller says Peterson wasn't responding to texts or phone calls ... so he became worried, and went to George's hotel room. Unfortunately, Peter- son -- who likely passed sev- eral hours earlier -- could not be saved.
Fury started to go to the body more in the seventh round. Fury put Wilder on the ropes with a devastating uppercut. Somehow, Wilder made it through the round without getting knocked down. But the Alabama native was leaning on Fury a bunch.
In the eighth round and ninth rounds, Fury and Wilder traded punches. Both fighters landed good shots to each other’s faces. Wilder’s lip busted open at the end of the ninth round.
Fury then landed a huge shot in the 10th round that caught Wilder and send him to the ground. The referee continued the fight and Fury smelled blood in the water and started pummeling. Wilder countered at the end of the round and looked like he was getting some momentum.
Wilder was taking more
shots in the 11th round, in- cluding a nasty uppercut with 2 minutes left in the round. Fury then landed the final shot that sent Wilder down.
Fury improved to 31-0 in his career. Wilder fell to 42-2.
Asked what he said to Wilder in the ring, Fury said: “I just said, ‘Well done,’ and he said, ‘I don’t wanna show any sportsmanship or respect.’
“I said, ‘No problem.’ Very surprised. Sore loser. Idiot.”
He later added: “He’s got no love for me, Deontay Wilder, because you know why? I beat him three times.
“I’m a sportsman, I went over to him to show some love and respect and he didn’t want to give it back. That’s his prob- lem. I will pray for him so God will soften his heart.”
The Tyson Fury and De- ontay Wilder heavyweight title fight lived up to the hype.
Fury threw an incredible combination of punches and knocked Wilder out in the 11th round to retain the WBC and The Ring magazine heavyweight titles.
Wilder came out of his corner quickly and went after Fury with some important jabs to the body. Things got a little dicey for Wilder in the third round when Fury knocked him down. Wilder looked like he was shaken up a bit but came back really strong in the fourth.
Wilder knocked Fury down twice and the fight began to shift toward the "Bronze Bomber."
As the bout drudged on, both fighters appeared to start getting gassed. Both fighters began to get tangled up more and the ravenous crowd began to simmer down.
Bodybuilder George Peterson Dead At 37, Found Deceased In Hotel Room
Bodybuilder
Tyson Fury, of England, hits Deontay Wilder in a heavy- weight championship boxing match Saturday in Las Vegas.
GEORGE PETERSON
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