(CNN) Two-time Pro Bowl running back Clinton Portis and two other former NFL players have pleaded guilty for their roles in a nationwide health care benefit fraud scheme to submit false claims for payouts totaling about $3 million, the Justice Department said Tuesday.
Portis, Tamarick Vanover and Robert McCune admitted to participating in a scheme to scam the league's retiree health care benefits plan, which provides tax-free reimbursement to former players and their families for out-of-pocket medical expenses that are not covered by insurance, the department said.
"McCune orchestrated the nationwide fraud, which resulted in approximately $2.9 million in false and fraudulent claims being submitted to the Plan and the Plan paying out approximately $2.5 million on those claims between June 2017 and April 2018," the Justice Department said.
Robert McCune at a 2009 preseason game while he was trying to make the Cleveland Browns roster.
To date, 15 former players have pleaded guilty to charges related to the scheme, prosecutors said.
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