LEXINGTON, Ky. — The player who once sported off-the-field fake personas such as "Kid Bro Sweets" and "Sheriff Gonna Getcha" will be going behind bars himself.
Former Washington Football Team running back Clinton Portis was sentenced Thursday to six months in prison and six months of home detention as part of a nationwide health care fraud scheme involving 10 retired NFL players, according to CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin. The sentencing took place Thursday morning in the district court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Portis, who played seven seasons with the Burgundy and Gold, was charged with health care fraud related to medical expenses and purchases after retiring. As a part of his restitution, he must pay back the NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan.
According to court documents, from December 2017 to December 2018, Portis sought reimbursement for costly medical equipment and falsified prescriptions, letters of medical necessity and invoices. Portis admitted that he was reimbursed for an oxygen chamber and a Cryosauna that totaled over $99,000, which he knew was not medically necessary.
Portis pleaded guilty to defrauding the NFL's health care plan back in September, hoping to avoid jail time. According to CBS Sports, Judge Karen K. Caldwell split between Portis' request and the prosecution's request for 10-16 months in prison. The end result puts Portis behind bars in federal prison until September with six months of additional home detention.
A hung jury in the original trial led to the prosecution intending to set a second trial before Portis admitted to the crimes.
According to the Department of Justice, those indicted along with Portis include Ceandris Brown, James Butler, Fredrick Bennett, Correll Buckhalter, Etric Pruitt, John Eubanks, Tamarick Vanover, Carlos Rogers and Robert McCune.
Eubanks, McCune and Rogers played for WFT as well during the 2000s, but none of them played in Washington as long as Portis did.
The DOJ believes that these players defrauded the league's plan of nearly $3.9 million through false claims; $3.4 million of these claims were reportedly paid to these players from June 2017 through December 2018.
Portis played for the Washington Football Team from 2004-2010 and currently lives in McLean, Virginia. He has served in a variety of roles for Washington's broadcast and media team, which includes speaking engagements on the radio.
Portis was drafted into the NFL in 2002 out of the University of Miami and played for the Denver Broncos to start his career. Over his nine-year NFL career, Portis racked up 9,923 yards and found the endzone 75 times for touchdowns.
During his seven seasons with Washington, Portis rushed for over 1,000 yards for four of them, according to NFL statistics. His best season with Washington was arguably the 2005 season when he averaged 94 yards per game and 4.3 yards per play.