Former college football star Rufus French once had NFL dreams, but now he is spending the next 16 years paying for a massive $197 million scam

The NFL is a dream for all college football players, but not everyone gets the chance. While these athletes then pursue other careers, we have seen some of them commit bizarre crimes. Similar to a former football player scamming people by impersonating NFL players, another athlete, Joel Rufus French, is caught in a massive scam. The former Mississippi college football star has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for his $197 million Medicare fraud scheme that targeted innocent seniors and disabled veterans. 

According to People, French orchestrated a Ponzi scheme to defraud Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA). And he did it by selling patient information and fake doctors’ orders for orthotic braces that patients didn’t want. It was also reported that the French worked with overseas telemarketing call centres to put an extra burden on victims. He has now been sentenced to 16 years in prison along with restitution.

The prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald, said in a statement. “Fueled by lies, bribes, and overseas telemarketers, this corrupt scheme preyed on senior citizens and disabled veterans to flood the country with unnecessary medical devices — and then billed the taxpayer for it,” He added, “Today’s sentence makes clear that if you target America’s elderly, sick, or vulnerable — and rob America’s purse doing so — you will be targeted and brought to justice.”

French used his Companies to transfer fraudulent funds across accounts 

Joel used a unique method to avoid the issues; he defrauded by billing the programs for orthotic braces through his own eight durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies. He also laundered about $225,000 in cash from a Mississippi bank. Out of this large sum, only $10,000 was paid to accomplices, while the remainder was his.

French, even though he has been declared the offender, was not like this throughout his life. He had been a productive football player at the college level. In Mississippi, he was deemed, but he could not translate his success into the NFL. He was initially signed by the Seahawks after a short stint, but he was later transferred elsewhere.

From being an impressive football player to scamming innocent people for around $197 million, it is indeed a bizarre journey for the athlete. It looks like French’s son, Charleston, could just fulfill his NFL dream. He plays for the University of North Carolina under coach Bill Belichick and is a promising running back for his team. Joel didn’t get the chance to dominate the NFL, but his son is looking quite promising to make it to the big leagues.