Former NFL star Clinton Portis, who lives near Charlotte, sentenced in fraud case
During his long and lucrative NFL career, Clinton Portis earned more than $380,500 a game carrying the football.
Now the Fort Mill, S.C., resident and all-time Washington football great is going to prison for defrauding a medical reimbursement plan for former NFL players out of $99,000.
On Thursday, a federal judge in Kentucky sentenced Portis to six months in prison followed by six months of home confinement for his role in a conspiracy by 15 former NFL players that bilked the league plan out of $2.5 million by filing for phony medical expenses.
Portis reports to prison in March.
In its filings, Portis’ defense team urged U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell to follow some of her earlier decisions in the case and sentence Portis to time served, as she did with Joe Horn, a Charlotte resident and former All-Pro New Orleans Saints receiver, who was sentenced in November.
In sentencing Portis, however, Caldwell split the difference with prosecutors, who had recommended that he spend a year behind bars.
Portis’ crime carried a maximum penalty of 10 years. According to federal sentencing guidelines, he faced a sentence of 10 to 16 months, the Lexington Herald Leader reported.
According to Herald Leader, Caldwell agreed with prosecutors that Portis had shown little remorse.
While acknowledging that the former player had pleaded guilty, Caldwell described Portis in court as “somebody who just wants to get the case over with,” the newspaper reported.
“There is still this missing component and that is owning what he did.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Smith said in his written arguments that Portis fought the charges, failed to take responsibility or cooperate with the investigation and only pleaded guilty and repaid the reimbursement fund shortly before his second trial. His first, which included former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tamarick Vanover as a co-defendant, ended with a hung jury.
“Once the fraud was uncovered, Portis had numerous opportunities to admit his illegal conduct, accept responsibility, and take measures to remedy his wrongs,” Smith wrote in his sentencing memo.
“Portis repeatedly failed to do so.”
Portis’ attorneys did not immediately respond to an Observer email seeking comment.
Support from Daniel Snyder
The Portis sentencing was one of the last in the sprawling multi-year investigation run out of Kentucky, which was home for Cigna, which helped administer the NFL plan.
Documents in the case comprise a familiar cautionary tale of financial mismanagement by well-paid athletes.
Portis, 40, was paid at least $43 million to play nine NFL seasons with Washington and the Denver Broncos, retiring in 2012. But he burned through money with even greater speed than he avoided tacklers, court documents show.
He lost millions in casinos and ran up other significant debt. Three years after retiring, a trifecta of bad investments, lavish spending and questionable moves by his agents, drove him into bankruptcy. In August, Portis was arrested in Florida on charges of owing almost $150,000 in child support.
Despite earning a six-figure salary as a broadcaster for the Washington Football Team, Portis was broke again when he filed his first fraudulent reimbursement claims in 2017-18, prosecutors say.
His former bosses, Washington team owners Daniel and Tanya Snyder, wrote a letter to Caldwell expressing shock at Portis’ legal problems.
“Not because Clinton got wrapped up in something where others did not have his best interest in mind, but because Clinton is the opposite of a criminal,” the Snyders said. “We support Clinton fully. He has told us how deeply he regrets getting involved in what he should have known was not legitimate.”
In his own letter to Caldwell, Portis vouched for himself.
“As a responsible adult, I’ve accepted my fate which is in your hands,” Portis said. “For 40 yrs of my life, I’ve been a stand-up individual. I’ve had a positive impact on communities all over the world & plan to continue.
“This accusation has changed my life & my family’s but as I assure them, ‘god give his toughest battles, to his toughest soldiers.’
“I will fight for what’s right until there’s no breath left in my body.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Former NFL star Clinton Portis, who lives near Charlotte, sentenced in fraud case."
