The Breslin Student Events Center. Photographed on August 23, 2019.
—Former MSU basketball players Alan Anderson and Shannon Brown are being charged and arrested in a multi-million-dollar health insurance fraud scheme among 16 other NBA vets and the wife of one player, according to a report by NBC New York.
Anderson and Brown played together from 2003-05 at Michigan State University.
According to NBC New York, 18 NBA players were involved in a widespread scheme from at least 2017-20 to defraud the NBA Players' Health and Welfare Benefit Plan by submitting fake reimbursement claims.
The fraudulent activity adds up to approximately 3.9 million dollars in claims, while the defendants were awarded about 2.5 million dollars, according to NBC New York.
The ringleader of the scheme was former Louisville star and former NBA player Terrence Williams, who reportedly offered players fake invoices to assist with their false claims.
The investigation is in the works as more information continues to be revealed.
Brown in his time with the Spartans from 2003-06 was a star, averaging 17.2 points per game in his final season with the Spartans. In his sophomore season, Brown was instrumental in leading the Spartans to their 2005 Final Four. Brown also played for nine years in the NBA, playing a role in the Los Angeles Lakers’ back-to-back NBA titles in 2009 and 2010.
Anderson also was a large part of the 2005 Final Four, averaging 13.2 points per game in his senior season to help propel the Spartans to the Final Four. Anderson spent eight years in the NBA.
The State News reached out to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for the documents, but the indictments remain sealed.
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