Four-time Super Bowl winner and NFL linebacker Bill Romanowski is in all sorts of trouble. The former San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos star and his wife are being sued by the US Government, with the Department of Justice claiming the couple owes about $15.3 million in back taxes.
Bought Pet Food with the Company’s Money
According to a report in USA Today, the linebacker’s wife misappropriated money from a nutrition company the Romanowskis owned. She used the company’s funds to pay for their daughter’s rent and buy food for their pets among other things.
The Department of Justice accused the Romanowskis of not paying federal income taxes for a period of ten years, from 1998 to 2007. The pair launched their nutrition company Nutrition53 in 2006. The Department of Justice alleged the couple of avoiding income taxes by using the money the company had in its bank accounts.
In the lawsuit, the Department of Justice claimed that ‘by using Nutrition53 to pay their personal living expenses” the couple thwarted the IRS’s efforts to collect the correct income tax assessments.
NFL Star History
Bill Romanowski started his NFL career in 1988 when he was drafted as a third-round pick by the 49ers. He played in the Bay Area for six seasons and won two consecutive Super Bowls in 1988 and 1989.
After leaving San Francisco, Romanowski spent two seasons with the Eagles. He then joined the Broncos and won his third and fourth Super Bowl in Denver. Romanowski spent his last two seasons with the Oakland Raiders and retired in 2003.
