Damn Clinton.
The glass half full, Portis was looking at a lot longer sentence until he took his plea deal.
He just has to suck it up for six months and he will be home.
Former Washington and Denver Broncos running back Clinton Portis has been sentenced to six months in federal prison and six months of home confinement for his part in defrauding a health care benefit program for retired NFL veterans.
Portis pleaded guilty to fraud in September following charges that he obtained nearly $100,000 after filing false claims for medical equipment that was not provided, according to court documents.
In a pre-sentence filing Thursday, the Department of Justice said it sought a sentence at the higher end of the recommended 10-to-16 month guideline, given Portis’ offense. The DOJ said it sought a longer sentence because Portis continued to deny his guilt until he faced a retrial following a hung jury. The filing also noted Portis did not pay back money to the plan until shortly before sentencing.
Portis was part of a ring of former players who filed false reimbursement claims totaling about $2.9 million. In 2006, the NFL established the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan, designed to help retired players pay for medical expenses. The account provides up to $350,000 in benefits per player.
Fifteen former players have pleaded guilty to charges.
The other players involved are Joe Horn, Carlos Rogers, Tamarick Vanover, Correll Buckhalter, James Butler, Ceandris Brown, John Eubanks, Antwan Odom, Etric Pruitt, Darrell Reid, Anthony Montgomery, Frederick Bennett and Reche Caldwell, who was killed in 2020.
The ringleader was Former linebacker Robert McCune and he is expected to get a lengthy jail sentence. The rest have been sentenced mostly to house arrest and probation. Porter was looking at 10 years in jail.
Flip the page for a video of how the scheme worked.