'Basketball Wives' Star Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison

British Williams, known primarily for her work on Basketball Wives, will serve four years in prison for various financial fraud crimes, per PEOPLE. The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri indicted the VH1 star on federal bank fraud charges in 2021. Prosecutors say she is guilty of misusing a social security number, bank fraud, making false statements to the IRS, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Her crimes date back to at least 2017. Radar Online reported that prosecutors allege Williams deposited checks, "without the knowledge and authority of the actual checking account holders" and withdrew the money before the "deposited checks were returned to the issuing banks for insufficient funds." Williams was also involved in a 2021 accident where she told police she had no injuries but reportedly received a settlement. Per prosecutors in the social security and bank fraud case, a claim was submitted to her insurance company for $16,000. 

While filming Season 10 of the show, she was on house arrest and forced to wear an ankle monitor while awaiting trial for her social security and bank fraud case. Weeks before her trial was set to begin, Radar Online reports the government has notified the court it intends to "present a superseding Indictment to a Grand Jury before the trial date for additional charges." 

Williams initially claimed she was innocent. She eventually pleaded guilty to 15 felonies. Aside from her prison sentence, Williams, 33, will be on supervised release for five years after her release. She also has to pay $564,069 in restitution.

The judge came down hard on Williams during her sentencing, while her lawyer claimed she was being targeted and made an example of because of her celebrity. "You knew what you were doing. You knew it was wrong and you did it anyway," U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey told Williams during the sentencing hearing. "Not only are you out there for people to watch your entertainment, but also for people to watch you. … That's a big obligation," Autrey said, per Riverfront News.

In her plea agreement, Williams admitted to under-reporting her income on tax returns for two years, as well as falsely claiming a niece and nephew as dependents. In doing so, she avoided paying $29,366 in taxes.