Latest news with #SebastianTelfair
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Former NBA player asks Trump for pardon before prison
Former NBA star Sebastian Telfair has publicly asked for President Donald Trump to give him a pardon as he faces a few months of federal prison time. In 2023, Telfair (pictured) pled guilty to charges of fraud after he was found to be one of 18 former NBA players who defrauded the league's health and welfare benefit plan of about $4million. Speaking to TMZ, Telfair revealed that the court ordered him back because of 'me not having my paperwork together'. 'I'm mad, I'm mad, I don't wanna be doing no federal time or all that,' Telfair told the outlet. He continued: 'As far as the initial case, I believe this whole federal case is definitely some bull[expletive], no disrespect to the system. But this is NBA accounts. This is our own account. This is my money that, you know what I'm saying, I tampered with inside of my account. No, I should not end up in federal custody for tampered with our own NBA accounts. I feel like we all have been victims under this NBA situation. I earned that money that they said that I took out of my account. I physically worked, and you all watched me earn that money, and I now got to pay it back to the system. The money don't go back into my account. It goes back to the system. So that is just mind-blowing to me.' After adding that he's being treated 'super unfairly', Telfair then revealed that he has a three-year-old child at home he needs to take care of. With that in mind, Telfair made a plea to the Oval Office to ask for an intervention in his case. 'I know Donald Trump got some big things going on, Donald Trump might need to come holla and give ya boy a pardon, and so I could stay home with my babies, continue building my community,' Telfair told the outlet. Telfair was drafted 13th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft straight out of Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, New York and played in the league for over a decade.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
Former NBA star reports to prison after begging for pardon from President Trump
After previously pleading for a pardon from President Donald Trump, former NBA star Sebastian Telfair has reported to a federal prison in New Jersey. Telfair, age 40, will be behind bars at Fort Dix Federal Corrections Institute - a 'low security' institution - for six months after violating the terms of his conditional release. According to records obtained by TMZ, Telfair will face mandatory conditions when he is eventually released - including refraining from the use of alcohol or drugs, taking a personal finance class, and writing a letter to the court explaining what he learned. In 2023, Telfair pled guilty to charges of fraud after he was found to be one of 18 former NBA players who defrauded the league's health and welfare benefit plan of about $4million. He was sentenced to time served plus three years probation - which included court ordered community service. But earlier this month, Telfair was ordered to report to prison on August 12 - this Tuesday - after violating conditions of his supervised release. Speaking to TMZ on Monday, Telfair revealed that the court ordered him back because of 'me not having my paperwork together'. 'I'm mad, I'm mad, I don't wanna be doing no federal time or all that,' Telfair told the outlet. He continued: 'As far as the initial case, I believe this whole federal case is definitely some bulls**t, no disrespect to the system. But this is NBA accounts. This is our own account. 'This is my money that, you know what I'm saying, I tampered with inside of my account. No, I should not end up in federal custody for tampered with our own NBA accounts. 'I feel like we all have been victims under this NBA situation. I earned that money that they said that I took out of my account. I physically worked, and you all watched me earn that money, and I now got to pay it back to the system. 'The money don't go back into my account. It goes back to the system. So that is just mind-blowing to me.' After adding that he's being treated 'super unfairly', Telfair then revealed that he has a three-year-old child at home he needs to take care of. With that in mind, Telfair made a plea to the Oval Office to ask for an intervention in his case. 'I know Donald Trump got some big things going on, Donald Trump might need to come holla and give ya boy a pardon, and so I could stay home with my babies, continue building my community,' Telfair told the outlet. Telfair was drafted 13th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft straight out of Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, New York and played in the league for over a decade. He made stops with Portland, the Boston Celtics, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Phoenix Suns, the Toronto Raptors, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Telfair also played multiple seasons in China before ending his pro career in 2017.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Phoenix Suns player seeks Trump pardon in $4M healthcare fraud case
Former Phoenix Suns point guard Sebastian Telfair sought a pardon from President Donald Trump ahead of his six-month prison sentence that was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Aug. 12. During an on-street interview with TMZ Sports in Telfair's hometown of New York City on Aug. 11, he said there was "definitely some bulls---" regarding the "paperwork," stemming from his March 2023 conviction in a $4 million NBA healthcare fraud scheme case. The 40-year-old Telfair was among 18 former NBA players charged in the 2021 case, including two other former Suns players, Shannon Brown and Milt Palacio. Telfair reached a plea deal that led to him getting time served and three years of a supervised release program that included mandatory community service. But he allegedly failed to report to the U.S. Probation Office and fulfill the terms of his conditional supervised release, which led to the prison term. "Trump, go check in on my story and you're definitely going to want to pardon me," Telfair said. "You'll hold me accountable and want me to continue to go do good. But I did too good to being sending anybody to jail." Telfair played for eight NBA teams, appearing in 106 games for the Suns from 2011-13, and averaged 6.1 points and 2.4 assists as a backup PG during his Phoenix stint. Before his NBA career, Telfair was a high school phenom who graced the covers of Sports Illustrated and SLAM Magazine in his senior year in 2004. He went from the prep ranks to the league as the Portland Trail Blazers' No. 13 overall pick that year and is the cousin of former Suns All-Star Stephon Marbury. Support local journalism: Subscribe to today. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Former Suns player seeks Trump pardon in $4M healthcare fraud case
The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Ex-NBA star begs for Trump pardon after reporting to jail for healthcare fraud scheme
Former NBA Sebastian Telfair, one of 18 basketball players caught up in a healthcare fraud scheme, has implored President Donald Trump to pardon him as he prepares to report for jail on Tuesday. Telfair and the other players named in an October 2021 indictment – including Jamario Moon, Glen 'Big Baby' Davis, Tony Allen and Darius Miles – were accused of defrauding the league's health and welfare benefit plan out of approximately $2.5 million by submitting allegedly fake medical and dental expenses. 'I know Donald Trump got some big things going on but Donald Trump might need to come holla and give your boy a pardon so I can, you know, stay at home with my babies and continue building my career,' the ex-point guard, 40, told TMZ Sports. 'Trump, go check in on my story, and you're definitely going to want to pardon me. You'll hold me accountable and want me to continue to go do good. But I did too good to be sending anybody to jail.' Telfair pleaded guilty to his part in the fraud in March 2023 and was sentenced to three years probation but has since been found to have breached the terms of his conditional supervised release. It emerged in June that Telfair had not completed his court-ordered community service and had not reported to the U.S. Probation Office, landing himself with six months of prison time. A high school star in New York City whose professional career began with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2004 and ended with the Fujian Sturgeons in China in 2017, Telfair told TMZ he believed he had been treated 'super unfairly' and described his situation as 'definitely some bulls***,' blaming a paperwork error for his plight. Telfair also pledged to devote himself to self-improvement behind bars and revealed plans to write a book. 'I'm definitely mad I put myself in this situation,' he said. 'But we definitely have got some wins coming. So, my fans, hold tight.' As president, Trump has been generous in handing out pardons, most notably to the more than 1,500 people prosecuted over their part in the Capitol riot of January 6 2021 on his return to the White House in January. More recently, he has openly mused about the possibility of granting executive clemency to Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Ghislaine Maxwell but has yet to do so in either case.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Longtime NBA Player Begs Trump For A Pardon Right Before Prison Stint
Longtime NBA player Sebastian Telfair, who was scheduled to begin serving a prison sentence Tuesday, asked President Donald Trump for a pardon just hours before his incarceration. 'I know Donald Trump's got some big things going on, but Donald Trump, I need you to come holla' … give your boy a pardon so I could stay home with my baby,' Telfair told TMZ on Monday. Telfair, a New York City high school phenom who played for eight NBA teams between 2004 and 2015 after being drafted in the first round, repeated his plea. 'Trump, go check in on my story and you're definitely going to want to pardon me. You'll hold me accountable and want me to continue to go do good. But I did too good' to be sent to jail, he said. Telfair was among many NBA players who were charged with running up fake medical bills on the league's health care plan to extract millions of ill-gotten dollars. He was originally sentenced to time served and supervised release for three years but was later given six months in the slammer for violating the terms of his release, the New York Post reported. According to Sportico, Telfair missed appointments with his probation officer, evaded his community service obligation, and was told by a judge that he did not pursue employment as ordered. Telfair attributed the problem to a paperwork mixup and said his situation was 'super unfair.' HuffPost reached out to the White House for comment. In 2019, Telfair was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for gun possession. He was out on appeal days later; his conviction waseventually overturned and a new trial ordered. Related... Watch NASCAR Winner's Celebration Take Frightening Turn In Freak Accident Mariano Rivera Shows Why Old-Timers' Game Can Be A Very Painful Experience U.S. Basketball Player Could Potentially Face Firing Squad After Arrest
