Court officials have permanently barred five law firms from the NFL's $1 billion concussion settlement fund after uncovering a fraud scheme. The firms recruited former players and sent them to unapproved doctors who diagnosed Parkinson's disease regardless of symptoms.
- 98 former players were involved in the scheme. - 57 claims totaling over $95 million were approved before the fraud was detected.
- 37 pending claims will be denied, though players may restart the process. - The scheme involved using unapproved doctors and then sending players to approved physicians who were unable to independently verify the diagnosis.
The NFL praised the decision, stating that fraud will not be tolerated.