The amount involved is 4.3 billion yuan!Smart was impersonated to defraud insurance + testified in court The fraudster was sentenced to 12 years
On February 5, Beijing time, according to a report by the famous American media ESPN, a 54-year-old man in the United States, Matthew James, posed as NBA star Smart and NFL lawyer and executive Jeff Pash and other people to carry out medical fraud and defraud a total of 600 million US dollars, equivalent to more than 4.3 billion yuan, and has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Matthew James, 54, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison after being convicted of a massive insurance fraud scheme involving impersonating NBA star Marcus Smart, an NFL attorney and executive, among other patients, according to prosecutor Eslip in Central New York.
U.S. District Judge Joanna Seibert called Matthew James' actions "unforgivable" as she sentenced him at Central Islip on Friday. "Ruining people's reputations and doing all this to make illicit wealth," prosecutors revealed, adding Matthew James who defrauded $600 million from insurance companies while he runs a medical billing company.
Prosecutors said Matthew James had some doctors schedule elective surgeries through the emergency room, a strategy to increase insurance reimbursement rates and charge for different surgeries than those actually performed. When the insurance company denied the claim, he called and pretended to be an angry patient or policyholder, and he demanded payment from the insurance company.
According to court documents filed by Matthew James' lawyers, one of the people he impersonated was NBA star Smart, who also played for the Celtics in 2018 and underwent surgery for a hand injury caused by hitting a glass frame with his fist, while Smart now plays for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Smart testified in Matthew James' trial, according to prosecutors' court documents, and Smart said the impersonation upset him because he wasn't raised to treat people like Matthew James, which he feared would damage his status as a role model.
Another victim was NFL attorney and executive Jeff Pash, whose wife was being treated for an injury sustained while running in 2018. Matthew James, 54, started his business in 2007 and has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for problems such as alcoholism in recent years.