A federal judge has sentenced a former first-round NBA draft pick to 10 years in prison.
Former NBA player Terrence Williams has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for defrauding the NBA health and welfare benefit plan out of more than $5 million, the United States Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Williams had already been in jail since the spring of 2022 due to threatening witnesses.
Last year, Williams pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud in addition to aggravated identity theft. Along with serving time in prison, Williams will also have to pay more than $3.1 million in restitution and forfeitures.
“Williams led a wide-ranging scheme to steal millions of dollars from the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan,” U.S. attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “Williams recruited medical professionals and others to expand his criminal conspiracy and maximize his ill-gotten gains.
“Williams not only lined his pockets through fraud and deceit, but he also stole the identities of others and threatened a witness to further his criminal endeavors. For his brazen criminal acts, Williams now faces years in prison.”
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After being arrested and charged in April, Williams texted threats to a witness including that the witness was “talking way to[o] f[—]ing much,” to “shut the f[–]k up,” and “me spitting in your face is exactly what you’ll see.”
Before the sentence was announced, Williams choked up repeatedly as he blamed his crime on “stupidity and greed” and said he regretted that his incarceration will keep him from his six children.
“I one million percent take full accountability for my role in this case,” he said.
He reportedly made just over $6 million in his career.
Williams was picked No. 11 in the 2009 draft by what was then the New Jersey Nets. Before his career ended in 2013, he played for the Nets, Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, and Sacramento Kings.
