Report: Former Florida QB Shane Matthews must start prison sentence by June for involvement in fraud scheme

Former Florida quarterback Shane Matthews reportedly must start a prison term soon.

Shane Matthews reportedly must begin a three-month prison sentence by June as part of his plea agreement, plus pay $439,000 in restitution, for his involvement in a $20 million healthcare fraud conspiracy that placed former Florida player Monty Grow at the center of the controversy.

GatorSports.com’s Kevin Brockway reported the terms of the plea agreement for the former Gators quarterback on Monday. Per Brockway, Matthews has until June to start the prison sentence.

A jury in Miami convicted Grow, who played linebacker for the Gators in the early 1990s, on Monday afternoon, per a report from Jay Weaver of The Miami Herald. The jury unanimously convicted Grow of a healthcare fraud conspiracy for bilking $20 million from the TRICARE program for military members, veterans and their families, Weaver reported. Grow was also convicted of conspiring to receive and pay kickbacks for referring hundreds of military beneficiaries to the Pompano Beach-based pharmacy, Patient Care America, as well as of money laundering.

Per Weaver’s story, Grow was accused in a 49-count indictment of hiring an independent marketing team that included Matthews in the plan to fleece the TRICARE program. Matthews was paid $440,000 for “lining up sales representatives who then landed TRICARE patients for the pharmacy,” according to Weaver. Matthews was sentenced last week

Kevin Brockway 
@gatorhoops 
Per terms of plea agreement, former #Gator QB Shane Matthews has until June to start three-month prison sentence, must pay $439K in restitution for involvement in Monte Grow medicare fraud scam.
5:36 PM - Feb 5, 2018

Matthews, 47, threw for 9,287 yards with 74 touchdowns and 46 interceptions with the Gators from 1990-92. He had a 14-year NFL career that included stops with the Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins, Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. His last season in the NFL was with the Dolphins in 2006.

SOURCE: Astleford, Andrew. "Report: Former Florida QB Shane Matthews must start prison sentence by June for involvement in fraud scheme." SEC Country - Florida, 5 February 2018, https://www.seccountry.com/florida/report-former-florida-qb-shane-matthews-must-start-prison-sentence-june-involvement-fraud-scheme.