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."

#SebastianTelfair tells TMZ Sports he wants #DonaldTrump to help him avoid a lengthy stay behind bars this year. pic.twitter.com/a2tFgCoYe5

— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) August 11, 2025

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.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Former Suns player seeks Trump pardon in $4M healthcare fraud case