Ex-Grizzlies standout Tony Allen gets good news in welfare fraud case

Apr 15, 2017; San Antonio, TX, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen watches from the bench during the first half against the San Antonio Spurs in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

The Grindfather has avoided the worst-case scenario in the high-profile NBA welfare fraud case.

Pete Brush of Law360 reported this week that retired former Memphis Grizzlies swingman Tony Allen was sentenced to community service and supervision for his role in a $5 million scheme to defraud the NBA’s health and welfare benefit plan. Most notable about Allen’s sentence is that he will not have to serve any jail time. Brush adds that Allen, before his sentencing, paid back most of the $420,000 that he illegally took as part of the scheme.

The 41-year-old Allen played 14 NBA seasons and won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008. After his Celtics career, Allen became a beloved fan favorite for the Memphis Grizzlies, making six All-Defensive Teams as part of the franchise’s fabled “Grit and Grind” era.

Having last played in late 2017, Allen was one of 18 former NBA players arrested in the welfare fraud scheme. The scheme allegedly involved those players submitting roughly $5 million in fake reimbursement claims from 2017-20 for medical and dental services that were never rendered (read more here).

For Allen, who officially pled guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud back in April, it is good news that he has managed to avoid jail time. However, one of the other ex-NBAers indicted in the scheme was definitely not as lucky.