Tony Wroten one of 18 ex-NBA players charged with insurance fraud

Former Sixer Tony Wroten is one of 18 former NBA players charged with insurance fraud and wire fraud Tuesday. The news was first reported by Tom Winter of NBC News.

The Southern District of New York formally charged and arrested 16 of those players for defrauding the NBA’s Health and Welfare plan out of nearly $4 million. Terrence Williams, a former lottery pick of the New Jersey Nets, allegedly “orchestrated” a plan to file fraudulent claims. For his role, Williams received $230K from 10 other players, according to the indictment.

The claims totaled approximately $3.9 million, $2.5 million of which was actually received. Other notable players to be charged are Glen “Big Baby” Davis, Darius Miles and Sebastian Telfair.

Wroten, a first-round pick of the Memphis Grizzlies in 2012, was a beloved figure during The Process years. He was traded to the Sixers in 2013 and spent parts of three seasons in Philadelphia before being waived by the team in December of 2015. He has been credited by some as the man that coined the phrase “Trust the Process.”

He had stints with multiple G League teams and then spent time playing professionally in Latvia, Poland and Spain. He had eyes on an NBA return which hasn’t yet come to fruition.