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ESPN Investigative Reporter- Data analyst and reporter for ESPN's Enterprise and Investigative Unit.
- Winner, 2014 Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Award; finalist, 2012 IRE broadcast award; winner, 2011 Gannett Foundation Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism; Emmy nominated, 2009.
The Internal Revenue Service recently released the $8.2 million tax lien filed against embattled NBA veteran Terry Rozier, according to a county clerk record obtained by ESPN.
The release was filed Oct. 29, a day after ESPN reported on the tax lien and less than a week after Rozier was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering related to his alleged role in a gambling scandal.
Rozier's attorney, Jim Trusty, initially told ESPN in October that Rozier owed only $9,000 in unpaid taxes, before later revising the amount to $3,000. He said the lien had been issued due to an e-filing error.
The lien release, which was recorded with the Broward County Courthouse in Florida on Nov. 20, lists $8,218,211 under "unpaid balance of assessment."
"Once the accountant clarified the situation with the IRS, Terry was found to owe only $3,000 in unpaid taxes for 2021," Trusty told ESPN in October. "That amount has been taken care of and we fully expect the defunct lien to be withdrawn in the near future."
Trusty did not provide documentation of the amount owed or when it was paid. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
An IRS spokesperson said Monday the agency cannot disclose information about individual taxpayers and declined further comment.
The IRS has 30 days to file a lien release after a debt has been paid. The lien was issued in November 2023 in Broward County, where Rozier had purchased property in June 2021.
Taxpayers are generally notified within hours, if not minutes, if an e-file has been accepted, according to Tom O'Saben, director of tax content and government relations for the National Association of Tax Professionals. A failed attempt to e-file and an unpaid tax bill would have generated multiple notifications to Rozier or his tax representatives, O'Saben said.
Rozier is accused of providing nonpublic information about his plans to leave a game in March 2023 to a friend, who then allegedly sold it to bettors.
Rozier is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court Dec. 8 in Brooklyn. Trusty has said his client is not guilty.