The Sports Xchange

Former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress has been indicted on charges he failed to pay taxes, New Jersey prosecutors announced Thursday.

Burress has been indicted on one count of issuing a bad check or electronic funds transfer and one count of willful failure to pay state income tax in the amount of $47,903. According to NJ.com, both are third-degree charges that carry a maximum penalty of five years in state prison and a $15,000 fine.

The 37-year-old played with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants and New York Jets during his 11-year NFL career.

The indictment against Burress was on April 22 in Mercer County, where New Jersey’s Division of Taxation is based. Burress is the first person in the state to be charged under a law adopted and signed last year that makes issuing a bad electronic funds transfer a criminal offense just like passing a bad check.

In November 2008, Burress accidentally shot himself in the right leg while at a New York City nightclub. A weapons charge led to a prison stay of nearly two years, keeping him out of the 2009 and 2010 NFL seasons. He returned to play all 16 games for the Jets in 2011. He has not played since the 2012 season.

Earlier in his career, Burress had two 1,000-yard receiving seasons for the Steelers and two for the New York Giants, and he helped the Giants stun the New England Patriots and win Super Bowl XLII in 2008.