Five law firms representing former NFL players defrauded the league’s concussion settlement fund of more than $95 million through questionable diagnoses of Parkinson’s disease and have been barred from further participating in the program, according to a ruling by court officials.In a 51-page statement filed with the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Monday, two court-appointed federal special masters found that the claims administrator for the NFL’s settlement program had a “reasonable basis” for the findings of fraud in an extensive audit report. The statement detailed an “organized scheme” by the five firms in which they laundered questionable diagnoses in 98 former NFL players into payable claims.Fifty-seven of those claims were approved and fully paid more than $95 million before the scheme was discovered, reaping the firms approximately $20 million in attorney’s fees, according to the report. The officials wrote that there is reason to doubt the diagnoses underlying all 57 of those claims. Four other claims were denied or withdrawn, and 37 were pending.“These lawyers’ referral patterns, omission of material facts about the manufactured diagnoses, and lack of forthcoming response to scrutiny have made it impossible to tell good claims from bad,” Special Masters David A. Hoffman and Jo-Ann M. Verrier wrote. “They have cast doubt on every Parkinson’s disease claim going forward, and thus the claims administrator’s ability to reliably pay only true qualifying diagnoses.”The claims administrator for the settlement program — which was approved in 2014 and meant to last 65 years — issued an 81-page audit report on Dec. 12, 2025, after receiving several credible tips. The administrator found that the firms submitted claims by outsourcing the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease to physicians not approved by the program.The special masters noted the five firms’ refusal to cooperate during the audit was an “aggravating factor” in their decision. In addition to barring the firms from future participation in the program, the special masters also ordered the claims administrator to deny any claim that includes any of the nonqualified doctors who took part in the scheme, and denied the 37 pending claims. The special masters ruled the claimants could seek new evaluations from program-approved physicians.Furthermore, the special masters ordered the claims administrator to develop additional measures to ensure the reliability of Parkinson’s diagnoses.