Current:Home > StocksFormer reality TV star who was on ‘Basketball Wives LA’ sentenced to prison for fraud -Ascend Finance Compass
Former reality TV star who was on ‘Basketball Wives LA’ sentenced to prison for fraud
View
Date:2025-04-15 14:17:04
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A former cast member of the reality TV show “Basketball Wives LA” was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison for 15 fraud-related felonies, including schemes connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brittish Williams, 33, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in May to five federal counts of misuse of a Social Security number, four counts of bank fraud, three counts of making false statements to the IRS and three counts of wire fraud. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke said the actions took place over roughly a decade, and the crimes continued even after Williams was indicted.
U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey also ordered Williams to pay restitution of $565,000.
“You knew what you were doing. You knew it was wrong and you did it anyway,” Autrey said.
Federal authorities said Williams illegally obtained loans meant for businesses hurt by the pandemic. They said she also used false Social Security numbers to defraud banks and credit card companies, submitted fake medical bills to an insurance company, and lied on tax returns.
Williams appeared on “Basketball Wives” in its third season in 2014, when she was engaged to Lorenzo Gordon, who played professional basketball overseas.
“Brittish Williams was getting paid to portray her celebrity lifestyle on ‘Basketball Wives’ when in fact she was a typical fraudster,” Jay Greenberg, special agent in charge of the FBI’s St. Louis office, said in a statement.
Williams, at the May hearing where she pleaded guilty, promised that her days of crime were behind her.
“I will not be committing any more crimes for the rest of my life,” she said at the time, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
veryGood! (712)
Related
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Surging Methane Emissions Could Be a Sign of a Major Climate Shift
- All eyes are on Nvidia as it prepares to report its earnings. Here’s what to expect
- Circle K offering 40 cents off gas ahead of Labor Day weekend in some states
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Lionel Messi is back, training with Inter Miami. When will he return to competition?
- Bikinis, surfboards and battle-axes? Hawaii loosens long-strict weapons laws after court ruling
- 'Who steals trees?': Video shows man casually stealing trees from front yards in Houston
- Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
- RFK Jr. appeals ruling that knocked him off New York’s presidential election ballot
Ranking
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- 'Yellowstone' First Look Week: Jamie Dutton doubles down on family duplicity (photos)
- Rohingya refugees mark the anniversary of their exodus and demand a safe return to Myanmar
- Navy recruiting rebounds, but it will miss its target to get sailors through boot camp
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- Stefanos Tsitsipas exits US Open: 'I'm nothing compared to the player I was before'
- Video shows long-tailed shark struggling to get back into the ocean at NYC beach
- Children's book ignites car seat in North Carolina family's minivan minutes after parking
Recommendation
Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
4 fatal shootings by Mississippi law officers were justified, state’s attorney general says
Rohingya refugees mark the anniversary of their exodus and demand a safe return to Myanmar
At 68, she wanted to have a bat mitzvah. Then her son made a film about it.
Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
The Latest: Trump faces new indictment as Harris seeks to defy history for VPs
Colorado plans to relocate wolf pack as reintroduction effort stumbles amid livestock attacks
Why this is the best version of Naomi Osaka we've ever seen – regardless of the results