Former reality TV star sentenced to prison for fraud

ST. LOUIS -- 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 her days of crime were behind her.

"I will not be committing anymore crimes for the rest of my life," she said at the time, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.