Local professional golfer Jim Thorpe is in trouble for not paying his taxes. Thorpe is a resident of Heathrow and faces four counts of not filing an income tax return and three counts of failing to pay $1.6 million in income taxes.
The charges filed Wednesday in federal court in Orlando accuse Thorpe of failing to pay taxes on income he earned in 2002, 2003, and 2004. The charges allege that rather than pay his tax liabilities, Thorpe spent about $2 million on the construction of a new home and another $61,000 on a new vehicle.
The IRS said the charges against Thorpe should send a clear message during this tax season.”The name doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter how much money you make. What matters is you file your returns, you pay your taxes,” said Victor Lessoff, IRS.
If convicted Thorpe could serve seven years in prison and be slapped with a $3 million fine.Thorpe will appear in court in the coming weeks. His attorney told Eyewitness News his client is innocent because he didn’t willfully violate the law.
Source: wftv.com
