Former Eagles Running Back Defrauded NFL Healthcare Plan: Feds

PHILADELPHIA — A former Philadelphia Eagles running back is one of 10 NFL players to be charged with fraud and other crimes in connection with a scheme to defraud a health care benefit program for retired NFL players, according to federal authorities.

Correll Buckhalter, 41, of Colleyville, Texas, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud. Buckhalter was with the Eagles from 2001 to 2008, according to Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski.

Buckhalter and the nine others are accused of defrauding the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan.

This health plan was established in 2006 through a collective bargaining agreement and provided for tax-free reimbursement of out-of-pocket medical care expenses that were not covered by insurance and that were incurred by former players, their wives and their dependents – up to a maximum of $350,000 per player, according to authorities.

Buckhalter and the other allegedly filed more than $3.9 million in false and fraudulent claims to the plan, which paid out more than $3.4 million on those claims between June 2017 and December 2018, authorities said.

Two separate indictments filed in the Eastern District of Kentucky outline two alleged conspiracies involving different players related to the same scheme to defraud the plan.

Those charged in the indictments are the following:

• Robert McCune, 40, of Riverdale, Georgia, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud, nine counts of wire fraud and nine counts of health care fraud.
• John Eubanks, 36, of Cleveland, Mississippi (former Washington Redskins player); Tamarick Vanover, 45, of Tallahassee, Florida (former Kansas City Chiefs player); and Carlos Rogers, 38, of Alpharetta, Georgia (former Redskins and San Francisco 49ers), are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of health care fraud.
• Clinton Portis, 38, of McLean, Virginia (former Redskins and Denver Broncos player); Ceandris Brown, 36, of Fresno, Texas (former Houston Texans player); James Butler, 37, of Atlanta, Georgia (former New York Giants and St. Louis Rams player); and Fredrick Bennett, 35, of Port Wentworth, Georgia (former Houston Texans player), are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of health care fraud.
• Etric Pruitt, 38, of Theodore, Alabama (former Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks player), is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud.

Additionally, charges are planned to be filed against Joseph Horn, 47, of Columbia, South Carolina (former New Orleans Saints player), and Donald “Reche” Caldwell, 40, of Tampa, Florida (former San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots player) for conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

The indictments charge that the scheme to defraud involved the submission of false and fraudulent claims to the plan for expensive medical equipment – typically between $40,000 and $50,000 for each claim – that was never purchased or received.

The expensive medical equipment described on the false and fraudulent claims included hyperbaric oxygen chambers, cryotherapy machines, ultrasound machines designed for use by a doctor’s office to conduct women’s health examinations, and electromagnetic therapy devices designed for use on horses.

According to allegations in the indictments, Buckhalter, McCune, Eubanks, Vanover, Rogers and others recruited other players into the scheme by offering to submit or cause the submission of these claims for kickbacks and bribes that ranged from a few thousand dollars to $10,000 or more per claim submitted.

As part of the scheme, the defendants allegedly fabricated supporting documentation for the claims, such as invoices, prescriptions, and letters of medical necessity.

After the claims were submitted, Buckhalter and McCune allegedly called the telephone number provided by the plan and impersonated other players to check on the status of the false and fraudulent claims.