In October 2021, a fraud case rocked the NBA world. Eighteen former NBA players had participated in a scheme that included filing false medical claims with the NBA Players' Health and Benefit Welfare Plan. The players submitted about $5 million in false claims. Many of the parties involved have already received their sentences. Terrence Williams, regarded as the ringleader of the plan, was sentenced to ten years in prison in August 2023. Keyon Dooling and Alan Anderson also received jail time (27 and 24 months, respectively). Now, we’ve learned the fate of Glen "Big Baby" Davis.
A federal judge sentenced Davis to 40 months in prison for his role in the scheme. He was found guilty of multiple fraud charges and conspiring to make false statements. Beyond the jail time, he owes $80,000 in restitution and must attend a financial management class and receive drug treatments.
The prosecution said Davis made a "sophisticated and intelligent effort" to cover up his actions. Despite several documents praising his character from family, friends, and players, including NBA players' union executive director Andre Iguodala, Davis will receive the second-longest sentence of any player involved with this scheme.
Davis, who was a member of LSU's 2006 Final Four team, entered the league in the 2007 NBA Draft. The Celtics took him in the second round, and as a rookie, he became a decent contributor off the bench. Davis and the Celtics won the championship that season.
He spent four years in Boston before the team traded him to the Orlando Magic. After three seasons in Orlando, Davis played his final two NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers. He became a free agent in 2015, had ankle surgery, and never signed with another team. A year later, he put his career "on hold" to try and go into TV and film. None of those ventures turned into anything long-term, though he did make multiple appearances on Shameless and Power Book IV: Force. He also played in the BIG3 Tournament, winning a title there in 2018.
Davis's nine-year NBA career earned him a little more than $34.3 million. In total, the players took home about $2.5 million from the insurance fraud scheme.
That Davis needed to participate in this kind of scheme is a stark reminder that even when you're making millions, things can go south before you know it.
What You Will Learn
- The extent of the fraud scheme involving former NBA players.
- Glen "Big Baby" Davis's sentencing and the charges against him.
- The impact of financial mismanagement on professional athletes.
- Lessons learned from Davis's involvement in the fraud case.
