Brittish Williams Of ‘Basketball Wives’ Sentenced To 4 Years In Prison For Fraud
Brittish Williams of Basketball Wives has been sentenced to four years in prison following an ongoing felony fraud case. The reality star was indicted on tax, bank and insurance fraud, along with pandemic-related scams.
Williams pleaded guilty to 15 felonies, which included five counts of Social Security number misuse, four counts of bank fraud, three counts of false statements to the IRS and three counts of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri. They also mentioned that Williams “fraudulently used Social Security numbers not assigned to her to open accounts with credit card companies.” She reportedly cost various victims $28,537.
Additionally, the stolen SS numbers were also used for bank fraud, with Williams depositing checks and withdrawing the funds — causing an additional $23,850 in losses to victims.
Williams reportedly also submitted nine applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loans — which were meant to assist struggling businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Williams lied about her income, payroll and criminal history, resulting in her receiving $144,400 from the loans, which she allegedly used to keep up a lavish lifestyle. Additionally, Williams received $52,647 from four Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans — which were created for small businesses in need of funds during the pandemic.
In addition to imprisonment, the 33-year-old will also be on supervised release for five years after her return home. She will also be ordered to pay $564,069 in restitution.
“Brittish Williams was punished today, not for fraud, but for her celebrity,” Williams’ attorney, Beau Brindley, told PEOPLE. “The Court chose to treat her more harshly due to her status as a public figure rather than treating similarly situated defendants equally.”
The lawyer added, “Ms. Williams success is not a crime subject to enhanced penalty. And we will challenge this sentence through every legal means available.”
Williams did take a plea where she admitted to under-reporting her income on tax returns for 2017-2019, and falsely claiming her niece and nephew as dependents. In result, she was able to avoid paying $29,366 in taxes.
“You knew what you were doing. You knew it was wrong and you did it anyway,” U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey reportedly stated during 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.”
According to prosecutors, since Williams’ 2021 indictment, she applied for more assistance under the California COVID-19 Rent Relief program. She reportedly falsified information about being a California resident with a total household income of $50,000. She also made claims that due to the pandemic, she could not afford her rent due to a “reduction in hours of work,” and received $27,801.
Since 2012, Williams reportedly hasn’t filed her taxes and has listed herself as “exempt” on her tax documents from her former radio station employer. As a result, no taxes were withheld from her $90,000 salary, according to prosecutors. They added that Williams submitted fake medical bills to “at least one insurance company,” leading to her receiving $139,479.92.
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