Ex-Piston Bynum sentenced to 18 months in prison for NBA insurance fraud scheme

NEW YORK (AP) — Will Bynum, who played for the Detroit Pistons for six seasons, was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in prison for his conviction in a scandal involving NBA insurance fraud.

Bynum, 41, of Bensenville, Illinois, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court, where a jury convicted him in November of conspiring to make false statements related to NBA players who submitted false dental and medical claims to the NBA Players’ Health and Benefit Welfare Plan.

More than 20 people have been convicted in the case, many of them onetime NBA players.

Bynum, who averaged 8.1 points and 3.3 assists in 360 games during his career, was also ordered to forfeit $182,000 and pay restitution of $182,000 when he was sentenced by Judge Valerie E. Caproni.

According to court papers, Bynum joined several other former NBA players, including Terrence Williams and Keyon Dooling, from 2018 to 2019 in a scheme to defraud the plan. Williams and Dooling, who pleaded guilty to charges, already were sentenced to 10 years and 30 months in prison, respectively.

Authorities said Bynum received from another former NBA player fake invoices purporting to show $200,000 in medical services Bynum had received at a Los Angeles-area chiropractor even though the services never occurred.

At trial, Bynum testified. Prosecutors said he committed perjury and obstructed justice.

In a release, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Bynum "lied to the jury while under oath. His sentence stands as a stark warning that prison time awaits any who seek to defraud and obstruct justice.”

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