Former NFL star Bill Romanowski and his wife Julie have filed for bankruptcy.
The four-time Super Bowl winner is the subject of an ongoing Justice Department lawsuit over unpaid taxes.
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Romanowski and his wife owe $15.5 million in back taxes, according to court records seen by USA today.
The couple declared bankruptcy less than 24 hours before their hearing was scheduled for Tuesday.
U.S. prosecutors allege that the Romanowskis “used a nutrition company they founded to avoid tax obligations,” the report adds.
The lawsuit alleges the pair failed to pay millions in income taxes from 1998 to 2007.
They founded their nutrition business Nutrition53 in 2006.
The lawsuit alleges that the couple withdrew money from a bank account registered with the company to pay personal expenses.
This included plastic surgery and day spa appointments, according to court documents.
“By using the N53 to pay their personal expenses and those of their adult children, the Romanowskis improperly used the N53 to prevent the IRS from collecting the individual income tax assessments at issue in this case,” the Justice Department said in the lawsuit.
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An attorney representing the Romanowskis did not respond to an emailed request for comment, according to the USA Today report.
Romanowski spent 16 seasons in the NFL and played for four teams.
He was selected as the No. 88 overall pick in the third round by the San Francisco 49ers in 1988.
A 6-foot-10 linebacker, Romanowski won two Super Bowl titles in his first two seasons.
He left the Niners in 1994 for a stint with the Philadelphia Eagles.
But it was the move to the Denver Broncos that brought the most success, with two more Super Bowl rings in 1997 and 1998.
I caught [human growth hormone] for a brief period.
Bill Romanowski
Romanoswki was a two-time Pro Bowler and accumulated more than 1,100 career tackles.
Controversy dogged his career, with Romanowski ending the career of Raiders teammate Marcus Williams in 2003.
A single punch shattered the tight end’s eye socket, with Williams eventually suing Romanowski for lost earnings.
The 58-year-old was also implicated in the BALCO steroid scandal.
He admitted to using steroids in 2015, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“Drank[hormônio de crescimento humano]for a brief period,” he told CBS’s 60 Minutes.
Romanowski claimed he received them from BALCO founder Victor Conte, according to the New York Post Office.
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