Terrence Deshon Williams, born June 28, 1987, is a former professional basketball player who was drafted 11th overall by the New Jersey Nets in the 2009 NBA Draft. Williams, a senior co-captain at the University of Louisville during the 2008–09 season, had an impressive college career, making history with two triple-doubles. He was known for his athleticism and dunking ability, winning the 2005 Kentucky Derby Basketball Classic dunk contest.
Williams’ professional career started with the New Jersey Nets, where he showcased potential, including a career-high triple-double in 2010. However, off-court issues, including disciplinary problems, hindered his career. He later played for the Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, Boston Celtics, and various international teams, including the Guangdong Southern Tigers in China and Fuerza Regia in Mexico. Despite a promising start, Williams' career in the NBA was short-lived, and his time in various international leagues was similarly brief.
Williams' crimes related to defrauding the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan out of over $5 million. On October 7, 2021, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Audrey Strauss, announced criminal charges against former NBA player Terrence Williams and 15 others, accusing them of orchestrating a scheme to defraud the NBA's health plan.
The fraudulent claims totaled nearly $4 million. Strauss described Williams as the leader of the conspiracy, alleging he obtained fake medical and dental invoices, which he then sent to co-conspirators, including other former NBA players. These co-conspirators submitted the fraudulent claims to the plan, which paid for medical services that were never provided. In total, 19 individuals were charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. The case highlights a widespread effort to exploit the NBA’s health benefits for personal gain, with Williams playing a central role in coordinating the fraudulent activities.
Williams was sentenced to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni on charges related to orchestrating a large-scale scheme to defraud the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan out of over $5 million. Williams had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
From at least 2017 to 2021, Williams masterminded a widespread fraudulent operation, recruiting a network of co-conspirators, including medical professionals and non-medical individuals, to submit false claims for reimbursement of medical and dental services that were never actually provided. Williams facilitated the fraud by providing his co-conspirators with fake invoices from doctors and dentists, which were used to support the fraudulent claims. In exchange for his efforts, Williams received kickbacks of at least $300,000.
Williams also went to great lengths to make his fraudulent claims appear legitimate. When the NBA’s health plan required letters of medical necessity for certain services, Williams created and transferred fraudulent documents to co-conspirators to support the fake claims. Additionally, Williams impersonated employees of the NBA’s administrative manager, going so far as to create a fake email account to threaten one of his co-defendants into paying him further kickbacks. He used these tactics to extort approximately $346,000 from one co-conspirator.
In another instance, while out on pretrial release in April 2022, Williams sent threatening text messages to a witness in an attempt to intimidate them into silence. He wrote that the witness was “talking way too much” and issued graphic threats, including threats to spit in the witness’s face. This led to Williams being remanded in May 2022 after a motion was filed by the government.
In addition to his 10-year prison sentence, Williams was ordered to pay restitution of $2.5 million to the NBA’s health plan and forfeit $653,672.55 of his ill-gotten gains. He will also serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams commended the FBI for their exceptional investigative work, which was critical in bringing Williams and his co-conspirators to justice. The case was prosecuted by the Office's Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan B. Finkel and Daniel G. Nessim handling the prosecution. This conviction serves as a reminder of the consequences for those who engage in fraudulent schemes that exploit the trust of others for personal gain.
