‘Basketball Wives’ Star Brittish Williams Sentenced To 4 Years For Felony Fraud, Ordered To Pay $564,069 In Restitution
After admittedly fraudulent behavior, Brittish Williams is going to jail.
St. Louis’ Riverfront Times reports that the Basketball Wives star was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison after pleading guilty to 15 counts of various felony fraud.
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As previously reported in May, Williams said she was guilty of five 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.
In court Tuesday, the reality star pleaded for leniency, but it apparently fell on deaf ears.
The Riverfront Times reports that the presiding judge, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey seemed “largely unswayed” and told the reality star that he believed she possessed a “fraudster mentality” criminally because she stole $150,000 a year from 2017 to 2020.
“That’s a pretty damn good wage,” he said before adding that he took her fame into account with his sentencing.
“Not only are you out there for people to watch your entertainment, but also for people to watch you. … That’s a big obligation.”
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Prior to her sentencing, prosecutors alleged that she committed a myriad of crimes including applying for loans, taking out lines of credit, and opening bank accounts for her businesses with other people’s social security numbers, reports The Justice Department.
She was also accused of submitting nine applications for COVID-19 relief funds with false information about income and payroll leading her to receive roughly $197,000. She also reportedly submitted fake medical bills to an insurance company and received about $139,480.
Even after being indicted, Williams reportedly continued to commit fraud. Citing Williams’s plea agreement, The Justice Department reports that on Jan. 3, 2022, she applied for the California COVID-19 Rent Relief program, “falsely claiming that she was a state resident with a total annual household income of $50,000 and that she couldn’t pay her rent due to a “Reduction in hours of work” due to the pandemic.” With that, she was given $27,801.
The JD adds that she has been ordered to pay $564,069 in restitution and will be on supervised release for five years after her release from prison.
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