You pay all your taxes, but a multi-millionaire professional golfer from Heathrow hasn’t been paying his. Now the federal government wants Jim Thorpe to pay with jail time.
Pro golfer Jim Thorpe, 60, has done quite well for himself. He owns two homes in Seminole County. One is a $500,000 and the other, in the upscale gated community of Heathrow, is worth almost $2 million, but he owes almost that much to the federal government in taxes.
Four years ago, Thorpe celebrated a win at the FedEx Kinkos Classic. His fans did not know he owed more than $1.5 million in federal income taxes for 2002, 2003 and 2004. He had earned more than $4.5 million in taxable income during that time and paid less than $3,000 in taxes.
Instead, federal prosecutors say, Thorpe built his 7,600 square foot, $2 million home in Heathrow. The driveway alone is worth $10,000 and they say he bought a $61,000 car.
Thursday, there was no celebrating at the federal courthouse in Orlando as he waited inside for his ride to avoid cameras.
Thorpe won another $1.7 million gambling during those three years. After he won the FedEx Kinkos championship four years ago, Thorpe told Eyewitness Sports that he donated his entire $250,000 check to his church.
“For the first time in my life, it really made me feel that I had accomplished something. I want to help the less fortunate than we are,” he said at that time.
Prosecutors tried unsuccessfully to convince the magistrate judge to ban Thorpe from gambling until his trial.
Source: wftv.com
