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Former NFL running back Clinton Portis sentenced to six months in prison for fraud

Portis, who pleaded guilty in September for his role in defrauding a health care program for retired players, also must be supervised for six months after his release, federal officials said.
Image: Clinton Portis
Clinton Portis during the first quarter of a game against the Detroit Lions in Detroit on Sept. 27, 2009.Paul Sancya / AP file

Former NFL running back Clinton Portis was sentenced Thursday to six months in prison for his role in defrauding a health care program for retired players and their families that netted nearly $2.5 million in fraudulent claims, federal authorities said.

Portis' sentence also included a six-month term of home detention as part of his supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Portis, 40, of Fort Mill, South Carolina, a leading rusher for the Denver Broncos and the Washington Football Team in the 2000s, was facing up to 10 years in prison for his role in the scheme. He pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and agreed to pay full restitution, the Justice Department said in a statement.

Officials said Portis “caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to the Plan on his behalf over a two-month period, obtaining $99,264 in benefits for expensive medical equipment that was not actually provided.”

Portis’ co-defendant, officials said, is former NFL wide receiver Tamarick Vanover, 47, of Tallahassee, Florida. Vanover also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and agreed to pay full restitution.

Vanover recruited three other former NFL players and helped them bring fraudulent claims, obtaining $159,510 for medical equipment that was never provided, officials said.

A third defendant, former NFL linebacker Robert McCune, 40, of Riverdale, Georgia, pleaded guilty to multiple charges on Aug. 24, officials said. They included 13 counts of health care fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft, officials said.

McCune, officials said, “orchestrated the nationwide fraud.”

The former NFL players acknowledged that they participated in a scheme to defraud the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan.

The program, which was established by the NFL’s 2006 collective bargaining agreement, provided for tax-free reimbursement of out-of-pocket medical care expenses incurred by former players, their spouses and their dependents that were not covered by insurance.

The health care plan covered up to $350,000 per player.

Portis and Vanover pleaded guilty two days after a trial ended in a hung jury and a mistrial on certain counts against Vanover, officials said.

The scheme “resulted in approximately $2.9 million in false and fraudulent claims being submitted to the Plan and the Plan paying out approximately $2.5 million on those claims between June 2017 and April 2018,” authorities said.

Attorneys for Portis, Vanover and McCune could not be immediately reached for comment.

Portis, Vanover and McCune were among 10 defendants indicted in U.S. District Court for Eastern Kentucky in December 2019, officials said. Since the indictment, five more retired NFL players have been charged. A total of 15 defendants, officials said, have pleaded guilty.

Vanover’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 22. He faces up to 10 years in prison, officials said.

Details on McCune’s sentencing were not available Friday.

Portis, a two-time Pro Bowler, was drafted by the Broncos in 2002 and played two seasons in Denver, then went on to spend seven seasons with the Washington franchise. Vanover spent most of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs. McCune had short stints with multiple teams.