Three former NFL players learned their fate on Monday after pleading guilty to defrauding the league’s retirement health care program.
Anthony Montgomery and Darrell Reid were both sentenced to ten months of house arrest, while Correll Buckhalter received a harsher sentence of ten months in prison, followed by ten months of home confinement. The three men are among fifteen players who pleaded guilty in the elaborate scheme.
Montgomery, a former Washington Redskins player, filed two false claims for about $94,000, while Buckhalter, who previously played for Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos, received nearly $121,000 from the scam. Reid, who was a Colts and Broncos player, received more than $93,000. The trio submitted fake claims to the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan for expensive medical equipment they never received. The account plan then compensated them.
Other retired players involved in the scam include Carlos Rogers, James Butler, and Pro Bowler Clinton Portis, who will be sentenced on January 6th. In total, all fifteen players involved submitted over $3.9 million in fraudulent claims.
