Soccer Star Misses the Goal Ruled Offside by the IRS

A former Seattle college soccer star, Dion Earl, pleaded guilty to making false statements on a tax return. Earl used false documents to lie about his income, his mortgage deductions and the amount of money withheld by employers so he could claim tax refunds of more than 1.6 million dollars.

On his 2012 Form 1040 tax return Earl claimed that he made 1.6 million dollars working for eight different car dealerships, which withheld more than $660,000 in taxes. He claimed that his wife was employed by Total Soccer and Tennis Camps which paid her $240,000 and withheld $51,000 in taxes, and he stated that he made $520,000 in mortgage interest payments on four different properties. All these claims were false, but Earl managed to get a federal tax refund of $414,160.

Even after the IRS began an audit in 2013 Earl continued to make false claims on his tax returns. In all he claimed he was due 1.6 million dollars in refunds from the IRS, and was ultimately paid $1,093,534.

As part of the plea deal Earl agreed to pay $600,000 in restitution. Prosecutors are recommending he serve a one-year prison sentence, which will be added to 15 years he is already serving for sexual assault.