Two Former Spartans And A Former Piston Among 18 Arrested In NBA Fraud Case

Former Michigan State Spartan basketball players Alan Anderson and Shannon Brown (pictured above), as well as former Detroit Piston Will Bynum, are among 18 former NBA players who were arrested on Thursday morning on fraud charges involving the NBA's Health & Welfare Benefit Plan.  Tom Winter and Jonathan Dienst of NBC News were first to report:

The alleged fraud totals around $4 million.  Federal prosecutors will hold a Thursday afternoon press conference to publicize the charges.

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Anderson played at Michigan State from 2001-05 and was a member of the 2005 Final Four Team that lost to North Carolina in the National Semifinals.  Alan, who is 38 years old, played for 12 seasons in the NBA and in Europe.  He last played in the NBA in the 2016-17 season with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Brown played for three seasons at MSU from 2003-06, and was a teammate of Anderson on the 2005 Final Four team.  He played for nine seasons in the NBA with eight different teams.

As for the former Piston, Will Bynum, he played his college ball at Arizona and Georgia Tech from 2001-05.  He played for the Pistons from 2008-14.  Bynum averaged eight points a game in eight NBA seasons.

All who have been charged face one count of conspiracy to commit wire and health care fraud.  It is unclear at this point what penalties the defendants will incur if they are convicted (fines, jail time, etc.)