HARRIS COUNTY, TX (Covering Katy News) - A Harris County athletic trainer has pleaded guilty to defrauding a healthcare trust designed to help retired NFL players. Two former Texans previously pleaded guilty in connection with the same case.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg says trainer Luis Ray acted as the ringleader with eight former NFL players.
Ray, owner of Rehab Express in the Galleria area, created fraudulent invoices claiming to perform treatments on the former players from March 7, 2016, to November 2018. He has repaid $109,305 in restitution and pleaded guilty to a second-degree felony in exchange for five years deferred adjudication. If he does not successfully complete the five years of probation, he can be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison.
“By working together, these players, aided by a trainer who thought he knew how to game the system, stole from their former teammates,” Ogg said. “The Texas Department of Insurance worked hard to expose this scam and get justice for the victims.”
The former players are Dennis Pope, Jonathan Hadnot, Clint Ingram, Shantee Orr, Chadwick Slaughter, Fabian Washington, James Adkisson and Corey Bradford. The cases against Adkisson and Bradford are pending, the others six have pleaded guilty.
Orr and Bradford previously played for the Texans.
The specific charge in these fraud cases is Securing the Execution of a Document by Deception.
The cases are being prosecuted by Rick Watson, a special assistant district attorney assigned by the Texas Department of Insurance to support the Harris County District Attorney’s Office Financial Crimes Division.
“Fraud against health care plans is a rapidly growing problem,” Watson said. “This plan was created to support former NFL players who are struggling with health issues, and these defendants abused a system that is intended to assist those truly in need.”