NFL Great Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Return

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CN) — Former NFL great Ron Mix pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to one count of filing a false tax return.

Mix, 78, is also a practicing attorney on California.

Prosecutors claim Mix entered into an arrangement where he received professional athlete referrals from a non-attorney so his law firm could file workers' compensation claims in California on the former athletes' behalf.

After receiving these referrals, Mix agreed to make donations to Project Contact Africa (PCA), as directed by the non-attorney, according to court documents. Mix admitted that between 2010 and 2013, he made approximately $155,000 in donations to PCA and that these payments represented illegal referral payments that he falsely claimed on his personal income tax return as charitable deductions.

U.S. District Court Judge Greg Kays has not yet scheduled Mix's sentencing. He faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Mix was an offensive lineman for 11 seasons in the National Football League with the Sand Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. He was enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame in 1979.

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