Ex-NBA Celebrity Sebastian Telfair Petitions President Donald Trump for a Presidential Pardon
Sebastian Telfair, a former NBA player known for his time with the Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics, has been ordered to serve six months in prison for violating the terms of his supervised release related to a healthcare fraud case.
Telfair was among 18 former NBA players charged in October 2021 for defrauding the NBA’s health and welfare benefit plan, pocketing about $2.5 million. The healthcare fraud case involved submitting false dental and medical claims to the NBA's benefits plan.
In the days leading up to his report date, Telfair publicly pleaded with former President Donald Trump to grant him a pardon to avoid prison. He emphasized that he wanted to stay home with his young child and claimed the prison sentence was unfair. However, as of his reporting to prison on August 13, 2025, it appears no pardon had been granted yet.
The breach of supervised release conditions that led to Telfair's prison sentence involved failing to abide by the terms of his conditional supervised release, including not living up to his court-ordered community service and not reporting to the U.S. Probation Office.
Telfair's NBA career spanned ten years, during which he played with eight teams. He averaged 7.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 21.5 minutes per contest in 564 career NBA regular-season games (193 starts).
Other players involved in the fraud case include Telfair's ex-Celtics teammate Tony Allen, a six-time All-Defensive team member, and Glen "Big Baby" Davis, a former Boston Celtics star and 2008 NBA champion, who was given a 40-month sentence in May 2024.
As Telfair prepares for prison time, he has stated that he will use his time to better himself if a pardon is not forthcoming. However, no public indication exists that Trump is currently considering his request.
[1] https://www.sportico.com/amp/2022/06/23/sebastian-telfair-sentenced-to-six-months-in-prison-for-violating-terms-of-conditional-release-in-health-care-fraud-case/ [2] https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34526298/ex-nba-player-sebastian-telfair-sentenced-six-months-prison-health-care-fraud-case [3] https://www.si.com/nba/2022/06/24/sebastian-telfair-sentenced-prison-healthcare-fraud [5] https://www.tmz.com/2022/08/09/sebastian-telfair-reported-to-prison-for-healthcare-fraud-case/
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