NEW ORLEANS — Former Saints star receiver Joe Horn is among several ex-NFL players implicated in an alleged multi-state scheme to steal millions through fake medical claims, Department of Justice officials announced Thursday.
In total, 10 former players were charged for their alleged roles in defrauding a benefits program intended for retired NFL players for more than $3.4 million that was paid out in false claims for themselves and their families.
While no official charges have yet been filed against Horn, 47, other players charged include Robert McCune, John Eubanks, Tamarick Vanover, Carlos Rogers, Clinton Portis, Ceandris Brown, James Butler, Fredrick Bennett, Correll Buckhalter and Etric Pruitt.
According to the FBI, the alleged scheme centered around the "Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan," a benefit program for retired players created in 2006. "The Plan" provides tax-free reimbursement for medical expenses of players and their families that are not already covered by insurance.
These players submitted $3.9 million in fraudulent claims to The Plan, FBI officials said -- getting reimbursed for medical services and equipment that they never purchased.
The scheme, detailed in two separate FBI indictments in the Eastern District of Kentucky, allegedly had certain players recruit others to make claims for reimbursement for expensive medical equipment worth tens of thousands of dollars.
This system of kickbacks had players say they bought cryotherapy machines, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, ultrasound machines and more, then present fabricated invoices, prescriptions and other official documents to get reimbursed. These purchases typically ranged from $40-$50,000 in value, according to the FBI indictments.
“Ten former NFL players allegedly committed a brazen, multi-million dollar fraud on a health care plan meant to help their former teammates and other retired players pay legitimate, out-of-pocket medical expenses,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski in a prepared statement.
40-year-old McCune, a Georgia native who played in both the NFL and Canadian Football League, was hit with the most charges: Nine counts of health care fraud, nine counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud.
36-year-old Eubanks of Mississippi was charged with five counts in total, as were Vanover, 45, of Florida and Rogers, 38, of Georgia.
Former Redskins star running back Portis, 38, of Virginia, faces three counts of fraud-related charges, as do Brown, Butler and Bennett. Buckhalter and Pruitt face two charges each.
Horn, a South Carolina-native who played for the Saints from 2000-06, is expected to be charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud through a federal bill of information, officials said, but was not named in the initial FBI indictments. Donald Caldwell of Florida is also expected to be charged.
Horn's anticipated bill of information suggests he is cooperating with the investigation and may already have negotiated a plea deal.
To read more about the FBI indictments, click here.
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