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Jury convicts ex-UConn football star, Texas lab owner in fraud scheme

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Former UConn football standout and Texas laboratory owner Keith J. Gray was convicted Thursday for his role in a wide-ranging genetic testing fraud scheme, the Justice Department announced Friday.

According to investigators, the cardiovascular testing scheme generated up to $328 million in fraudulent claims. Gray, who never appeared in a regular season NFL game, owns Axis Professional Labs and Kingdom Health Laboratory.

He was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks, five counts of violating the anti-kickback statute. Gray also faces three counts of money laundering, a news release from the DOJ confirmed.

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Texas lab owner and former NFL player Keith J. Gray was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks. Gray faces five counts of violating the anti-kickback statute and three counts of money laundering. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Prosecutors said Gray knowingly billed Medicare for “medically unnecessary genetic tests designed to evaluate the risk of various cardiovascular diseases and conditions.” According to officials, Gray provided kickbacks in return for referrals of DNA samples and executed test orders authorizing the procedures.

JUDGE ORDERS EX-NFL PLAYER DARRON LEE HELD WITHOUT BOND AS PROSECUTORS WEIGH DEATH PENALTY

Marketers would seek out Medicare beneficiaries and “doctor chase” to uncover the identity of the beneficiaries’ primary care physicians. Prosecutors said that once an individual’s identity was obtained, a doctor was believed to have been pressured into approving the tests.

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Fabricated documents and invoices were used to try and conceal payments that listed charges for “marketing” hours. Another aspect of the operation involved Gray allegedly mischaracterizing the payments as “software” expenses or labeling them as non-existent loans.

Keith Gray's NFL headshot

Keith Gray of the Carolina Panthers poses for his 2009 NFL headshot at photo day in Charlotte, North Carolina. (NFL Photos )

During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence including text messages between Gray and a co-conspirator. The messages appeared to be enthusiastic exchanges between the two over the anticipation of the money they were gaining from Medicare.

“$ent, you should have it any minute if you don’t already. Get it?” Gray then replied by saying, “Sorry I was filling my bathtub with ones. Yes lol.”

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Texas lab owner and former NFL player Keith J. Gray was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks. Gray faces up to 10 years in prison for each count.

Axis and Kingdom billed Medicare an estimated $328 million for false claims, while Medicare paid claims totaling approximately $54 million. A sentencing date for Gray was not immediately announced. He faces up to 10 years in prison for each count.

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Gray was a key contributor to the Huskies, starting every game in 2007. He signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent after college.

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Manchester United wonderkid scores special goal as Michael Carrick watches

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Man Utd U18s are flying this season and exciting youngster JJ Gabriel has been prolific in front of goal.

Manchester United youngster JJ Gabriel continued his hot streak by scoring an excellent goal for the Under-18s against Wolves on Saturday. Gabriel opened the scoring in the 24th minute from an improbable angle in the box, hitting the underside of the bar with a powerful strike.

“That’s absolutely incredible, what a finish, Gabriel laces it from the underside of the bar from the narrowest of angles,” said Liam Bradford on commentary duty for MUTV. “He just puts his boot right through it and surprises everybody,” added former United defender Arthur Albiston.

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Gabriel scored his 15th goal of the season when he opened the scoring against Wolves. The youngster also struck the bar at the end of the first half, coming inches away from a brace.

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Noah Ajayi extended the U18s’ advantage shortly after Gabriel’s goal, calmly finding the bottom right corner after being played through into the box by a well-weighted pass from Jayirah Shah.

Gabriel and Ajayi were also on the scoresheet as the U18s beat Oxford 4-1 in the FA Youth Cup fourth round on Wednesday night. Darren Fletcher hopes his side can extend United’s rich history in the competition, but the U18 boss’ focus this weekend is on the league campaign.

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Michael Carrick made the 300-mile round trip to Oxford to watch that Youth Cup clash, and the interim head coach was spotted, alongside his assistant Steve Holland, watching the U18s against Wolves.

Carrick has been a visible presence at academy games since his appointment last month. Ruben Amorim once strolled over to watch some of an U21 match but never properly attended a fixture.

Gabriel has trained with the first-team on several occasions, despite only turning 15 in October. The talented teenager has been tipped for a bright future and has been in prolific form for the U18s this season.

“Yeah, it was good. I enjoyed it,” Carrick told MUTV about his trip to Oxford. “We went down, there was a number of the staff that went down and yeah it was always something we were trying to do and as much as we can, we’ll do that in between our fixtures.

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“In the Youth Cup, I’ve got great memories personally of the Youth Cup when I was younger. [It is] such an important competition and so for us to go and watch, it’s good to get our eyes on some of the younger players and how they’re doing.

“For them to feel that connection. I was really pleased with Colin [Little] and Fletch [Darren Fletcher] and the boys and I thought they played really well in tough conditions, actually. So to get a good result and move on was a good night.”

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How to watch St. John’s vs. Creighton basketball game today? TV channel, streaming options and more

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The No. 17 St. John’s vs. Creighton basketball game is set to be played on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. St. John’s will be looking to continue its Big East dominance as it welcomes the Bluejays to Madison Square Garden.

The Red Storm are on a 12-game winning streak, which they will hope to extend, while Creighton tries to avoid losing its second straight game. Below are some details ahead of the important matchup between St. John’s and Creighton.

How to watch St. John’s vs. Creighton

When is the game?

Tipoff for the game is at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.

Where to watch the game

The St. John’s vs. Creighton basketball game will air live on FOX. There are also multiple streaming options to catch the game live. It can be livestreamed on FOXSports.com, the FOX Sports App, and FOX One.

What is at stake in the St. John’s vs. Creighton game?

Saturday will mark the second time St. John’s and Creighton are facing off this season. Their last meeting on Jan. 10 ended up in a victory for the Red Storm with a 90-73 scoreline.

While St. John’s is on a 12-game win streak, averaging 81.4 in its last 10 games, Creighton is 4-6 in its last 10 games. The Bluejays have conceded an average of 82.0 points over the last 10 games.

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St. John’s will have at least one important absence, as Ian Jackson is set to miss the game after picking up an ankle injury. The sophomore guard sprained his ankle during St. John’s win over Marquette on Wednesday, as he attempted a rebound late in the first half.

Jackson left the game before returning to play about three more minutes in the first half and 11 minutes in the second half. He sat out the final five minutes of the game, however. Rick Pitino didn’t give a timetable for Jackson’s return and said he could be out for multiple games.

“His trajectory is going the right way as a basketball player, learning to do the right things,” Pitino said. “He’s improving the other areas that he was basically missing, so we’re going to miss that because he has improved.”

It’s not yet clear who will replace Jackson in the Red Storm’s lineup, although sophomore guard Joson Sanon is a top option.