New York basketball legend Sebastian Telfair, who went on to be a first-round pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, has been sentenced to jail time after he failed to meet the terms of his supervised release in a health fraud case, according to Sportico.
The website reports that last week Telfair was sentenced to report to prison on Aug. 12. The 40-year-old reportedly failed to meet the terms of his supervised release in a case where NBA players submitted false invoices to health care providers in a scheme to defraud the NBA’s Players Health and Welfare Benefit Plan.
Sebastian Telfair "failed to abide by court-ordered community service and failed to report to the U.S. Probation Office," Sportico reports.
He is reportedly set to spend six months in prison after he didn’t meet the terms of his conditional release.
Telfair went straight from high school to the NBA and was drafted with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers. He went on to spend 10 years in the NBA, playing for the Trailblazers, Celtics, Timberwolves, Clippers, Cavaliers, Suns, Raptors and Thunder over the course of his career.
He averaged 7.4 points and 3.5 assists per game during his NBA career.
According to Sportico, Telfair was accused of taking part in a scheme where he netted about $358,000 through fraudulent claims. He reached a plea deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution.
However, Telfair did not meet the terms of his supervised release and is now going to prison.
According to Law360, Telfair said that “a lot of things” were “stacked against” him, and that he sometimes gets “stuck in the mud.”
U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni reportedly fired back at Telfair, stating that he had done “absolutely nothing” to get a job. She also told him, “You thumbed your nose at your probation officer and me over and over.”
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