A former National Football League (NFL) player has just been charged for fraudulent medical claims, receiving more than $100,000 from a fund designed to benefit him and his fellow pro football players.

39-year-old Jameel Antwon Cook, who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Houston Texans, was found to have submitted 30 claims between March 2016 and September 2017.

He received benefits from the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Plan, which reimburses former players for medical expenses and out-of-pocket insurance premiums.

He could be facing up to 10 years in prison for his actions.

But Cook isn’t the first pro athlete to be involved in a medical claims scam. Despite athletes making millions off of their pro contracts, there have been several cases of fraud involving them in the recent past.

Another former NFL player, Marcus Buckley, was sentenced to two years in federal prison earlier this year.

He had initially agreed to a settlement of $300,000 in 2010 for cumulative stress injuries from his career, but submitted bogus workers-compensation claims to receive close to $1.6 million, which he has been ordered to repay.

In other sports, former Major League Baseball (MLB) player Ted Lilly was embroiled in a scandal himself, when he was charged with insurance fraud connected to a damaged recreational vehicle in 2015.

He was involved in a crash that damaged his RV. He later bought insurance and then claimed damage at a later date.

Lilly was able to avoid jail time after accepting a plea deal.

Need any help in detecting medical claims fraud? Get in touch with TukkoMed for a consultation on how our services can help your company.

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