Utah Jazz assistant coach Keyon Dooling put on administrative leave, facing federal charges in defrauding case
Utah Jazz assistant coach Keyon Dooling was put on paid administrative leave on Wednesday after being arrested in connection with a case in which former NBA players are alleged to have defrauded the league’s health and welfare benefit plan and pocketed millions of dollars.
Dooling, a former National Basketball Players Association vice president, was added to a criminal case that first came to light in October. At the time, 18 former NBA players were charged with defrauding the league’s health and welfare benefit plan by getting reimbursed for medical and dental services that were never rendered.
A newly written indictment that was unsealed by the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney on Wednesday charges Dooling with health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy. It also charged two previously named individuals, a dentist and physician, with health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy.
“Keyon made us aware of the situation this morning,” the Jazz said in a statement. “It is a case concerning his time at the National Basketball Players Association, prior to him joining our organization. He has been put on paid administrative leave. Due to the ongoing legal process, we will refrain from further comment.”
The DOJ included text messages between Dooling and other defendants in a press release announcing the new charges on Wednesday. The messages show Dooling and dentist Aamir Wahab discussing recruiting others into the scheme to defraud the NBA’s health care plan.
Wednesday’s indictment alleges that between 2017 and 2021, Dooling and the other 18 alleged co-conspirators “engaged in a widespread scheme to defraud the plan by submitting and causing to be submitted fraudulent claims for reimbursement of medical and dental services that were not actually rendered. Over the course of the scheme, the defendants submitted and caused to be submitted to the plan false claims totaling at least approximately $5 million from which the defendants received at least approximately $2.5 million in fraudulent proceeds.”
Dooling is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
