FredEx Now Delivering Fraudulent Tax Returns

Former NFL wide receiver Freddie Mitchell has been indicted for allegedly assisting a couple with filing fraudulent tax returns for professional athletes. Apparently, the plan was to grossly inflate the tax refund due to the pro athlete, and back that up with fake documents. From the Orlando Sentinel:

Mitchell turned himself into authorities, but it is unclear when his next court appearance will be. His two co-defendants, Jamie Russ-Walls and her husband Richard Walls, were arrested in Pennsylvania and are scheduled to be arraigned in Orlando on Thursday. All three are accused of conspiring to defraud the IRS.

Russ-Walls or Walls prepared individual income-tax returns that falsely claimed the taxpayers were due significant refunds, in amounts ranging from $170,000 to $1.9 million, and created false documents to support their fraudulent claims, the indictment alleges.

From some quick research it looks like Mitchell was probably just the pipeline for contacting pro athletes because of his four year(yeah, I know, it seemed like a lot longer) NFL career. Wonder if he got into this racket after his BBQ restaurant went under?

The big question now is who is "A.G." that was hoodwinked by FredEx? I checked out the Philadelphia rosters from 01-04, but didn't see any players with those initials. Nothing on the '05 Chiefs either. Anyone have any ideas?

Not So Fast Arlen

Senator Arlen Specter has been pretty vocal about the NFL's investigation into spying by the New England Patriots. Though, since he's a senator from Pennsylvania it's understandable because the Eagles lost in the Super Bowl, and the Steelers were defeated by the Pats in two AFC Championship games. He's sticking up for the home teams, and covering all the bases. However, maybe he should have been a little bit more lowkey regarding possible lawsuits.

Goodell has also met with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who asked pointed questions about taping of both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles. The Patriots beat the Eagles in the 2005 Super Bowl and the Steelers in two AFC championship games.

"As commissioner Goodell has repeatedly emphasized, `Nobody wants to hear from Matt Walsh more than the National Football League,' NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Sunday night.

In addition to the negotiations over Walsh's testimony, Willie Gary, who played in that game for the Rams, filed suit in New Orleans last month accusing the Patriots of fraud, unfair trade practices and engaging in a "pattern of racketeering." Three fans joined in the suit.

Specter subsequently said that his interest might be covered by that suit.

"I think now that the lawsuits have been started, that I got the ball rolling, and the plaintiffs' lawyers are picking it up," he said.

Oh, they are Arlen?

Lawyers for a former St. Louis Rams player and three fans plan to withdraw a lawsuit that accuses the New England Patriots of cheating in the 2002 Super Bowl.

In court papers filed Monday, the plaintiffs' attorneys say they sued last month in an attempt to secure sworn testimony from former Patriots employee Matt Walsh, who allegedly taped a walkthrough practice by the Rams before New England's Super Bowl win.

But the lawyers for former Rams player Willie Gary call it an "exercise in futility" because they suspect Walsh would exercise his constitutional right against self-incrimination if he is ordered to submit to a deposition.

On Monday, they asked a federal judge in New Orleans to dismiss the case. The case was filed in New Orleans because the Louisiana Superdome hosted the 2002 Super Bowl, which the Patriots won 20-17.

They do reserve the right to refile it if they wish to do so, but at this time it appears that their lawsuit is going to make much headway. Though, I don't think that many people other than Senator Specter thought that it would. However, I do give him kudos for playing the politician role perfectly.

Now T.O. Has Something Else To Cry About

For premier athletes, money isn't really an isssue. When you're getting roster bonuses with multiple zeroes attached at the end you don't have a hard time paying for things. But even for an athlete of T.O.'s caliber, $770k has to be a little bit hard to part with. However, that's about how much he owes the Eagles.

Terrell Owens should set aside part of his roster bonus from Dallas to pay his old team a debt. An arbitrator ruled in favor of the Philadelphia Eagles last Friday on a grievance that was filed by the NFL players' union on Owens' behalf in 2005, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Tuesday, citing a league source.

A team spokesman said the Eagles wouldn't comment. Owens' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, didn't immediately return a phone message.

The union disputed the Eagles' effort to recover $1.725 million of the $2.3 million signing bonus the team paid the wide receiver when it signed him to a seven-year, $48.97 million deal in 2004.

Owens was kicked off the team seven games into the 2005 season for a series of infractions, including repeated criticism of quarterback Donovan McNabb and lashing out against management. He was suspended four games without pay and the team withheld his final five paychecks, totaling $955,880. That means Owens still owes the Eagles $769,120.

Owens will be receiving a roster bonus of $3 million from the Cowboys, so he has money to spare. Though, taking a hit the equivalent of a Pagani Zonda plus a couple hundred tanks of gas can't feel all that great.