Former NFL star receiver pleads guilty in Kentucky in investigation of health fraud
A former stand-out receiver in the National Football League pleaded guilty in federal court in Lexington Thursday to conspiring to defraud a health plan.
Joe Horn, 47, admitted taking part in seeking reimbursement in 2018 for expensive medical equipment that he didn’t actually receive.
In Horn’s case, that included a cryosauna valued at more than $50,000.
Horn submitted false or fraudulent claims to the health plan under his name totaling $149,775, according to his plea agreement.
Horn played for the Kansas City Chiefs before becoming a star for the New Orleans Saints between 2000 and 2006 as one of the top receivers in the team’s history, making the Pro Bowl four times.
Horn lives in Columbia, S.C., but healthcare fraud charges against him and several other former NFL players are being prosecuted in federal court in Lexington.
That’s because the fraudulent claims were submitted to a CIGNA Healthcare data center in Lexington, according to a court document.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this month that it had charged 10 former NFL players in an alleged conspiracy to defraud the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan, and planned to charge two more, including Horn.
That program provides reimbursement for medical expenses of former players not covered by insurance. It covers former players, their wives and dependents up to a maximum of $350,000 per player, the department said in a news release.
The former players allegedly schemed to submit claims for reimbursement for equipment they hadn’t actually bought.
The big-ticket items included hyperbaric oxygen chambers, cryotherapy machines, ultrasound machines designed to be used by doctors to examine women and electromagnetic therapy devices designed for use on horses, the Justice Department said.
The players allegedly faked invoices, prescriptions and letters stating they needed the equipment.
Then, Robert McCune, 40, of Riverdale, Ga., and Correll Buckhalter, 41, of Colleyville, Tex., allegedly called the reimbursement plan and impersonated other players to check on claims, the Justice Department said.
McCune and Buckhalter were among former players accused of recruiting others into the scheme by offering to handle claims in return for kickbacks of up to $10,000 per claim.
The former players allegedly submitted more than $3.9 million in false and fraudulent claims between June 2017 and December 2018, the Justice Department said.
In addition to Horn, McCune and Buckhalter, those charged in Lexington are John Eubanks, Tamarick Vanover, Carlos Rogers, Clinton Portis, Ceandris Brown, James Butler, Fredrick Bennett and Etric Pruitt.
Prosecutors said they also plan to charge Donald “Reche” Caldwell.
“The defendants allegedly submitted false claims to the plan and obtained money for expensive medical equipment that was never purchased or received, depriving that plan of valuable resources to help others meet their medical needs,” Robert M. Duncan Jr., U.S. Attorney for the eastern half of Kentucky, said at the time the charges were announced.
Authorities said more than 20 FBI offices took part in the investigation. None of the players charged in the case live in Kentucky.
U.S. District Judge Karen K. Caldwell scheduled Horn to be sentenced in April.
The charge against him has a top sentence of 10 years and a fine of $250,000 or twice the amount involved in the fraud.
However, Horn’s sentence is likely to be less. Horn was charged through an information, not an indictment, which can mean a defendant is cooperating with authorities.
This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 9:29 AM.
