In episode 2 of his self-titled short documentary, former HS phenom and NBA player Sebastian Telfair talked about the NBA health care insurance fraud where he was involved in and expressed disappointment over having to go to jail for a "victimless crime."
According to the 2004 NBA lottery pick, he was already going through a lot of troubles when it happened, and it got to a point where everything was too much for him to take.
"Getting sentenced for the healthcare fraud with the NBA was completely terrible timing for me because I had just got off the state case," said Telfair. "I was sentenced to three years' probation, and I couldn't mentally do all the stuff that they was asking me to do. They was like "Go get a 9 to 5." They over me telling me to go to McDonald's and get a job."
Telfair was convicted of gun charges in 2019 and sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. He was released on a $500,000 bail and fought in court to overturn the conviction.
With a divorce proceeding on the side, "Bassy" was spending a lot of money on his legal issues. And because he was hit with travel restrictions, Sebastian was unable to play overseas and did not have a regular source of income.
As his finances were draining and with mouths to feed at home, he was lured by Terrence Williams into what later blew up as the NBA's healthcare fraud. However, Telfair insists that he never ripped off anyone because the money he took was his share of the benefit plan, not anyone else's.
"So they said I robbed my old self," he added. "The person that I took money from is me when I get older. I don't know. But it just still does never make no sense…We ain't take from nobody. So me, bout to go sit in a fu—ng federal prison. Why they locking me up? Trying to really just break my spirit."
Unfortunately for Telfair, that is not the case. While he was correct that the money he received was intended for him only, Williams took it out of the fund illegally. As the indictment explained, Terrence used fraudulent invoices to reimburse medical and dental services that were not actually provided, and he took a commission from every transaction.
And so in 2021, Telfair, Williams and 16 other former NBA players were changed with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud in what prosecutors dubbed as a widespread scheme to defraud the NBA's Health and Welfare Benefit Plan, with the total amount of fake invoices submitted totalling $4 million and the amount of claims paid to the players at $2.5 million. Sebastian's number was around $358,000.
"Bassy" reached a plea with prosecutors, and he was sentenced to time served plus three years of supervised release, while ordering him to pay restitution. However, the former Lincoln HS star failed to abide by the terms of his conditional release, including not getting a job as ordered by the court.
"Who with a million dollars is going to be able to go work at McDonald's mentally?" he protested in the interview.
If only "Bassy" had followed the terms of his release, he would not have gone to jail and would be at home with his kids right now, as he said he wants to be. However, it's only six months, and he's served half of his term already and should be out in no time. Hopefully, Telfair will have learned his lesson by then.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Nov 15, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
