Report: Plaxico Burress indicted on tax-related charges

Former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress was indicted Thursday on charges of failing to pay $47,903 in taxes.

Former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress was indicted Thursday on charges of failing to pay $47,903 in taxes, according to the Times Of Trenton. 

Burress primarily played seven seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers and four seasons for the New York Giants during his professional career. He also played one season with the New York Jets. 

He faces one count of issuing a bad check or electronic funds transfer and one count of willful failure to pay state tax, according to the report. Both charges are third-degree charges, which have a maximum sentencing of five years in a state prison. Burress could also be subject to fines. 

According to the Times of Trenton, New Jersey tax officials saidBurress' indictment marks the first-ever prosecution under a new law making a failed electronic funds transfer a criminal offense. 

The charges stemmed from Burress' filing of his 2013 income taxes, during which the $47,903 he sent did not process correctly. Authorities leveled a criminal complaint against Burress in February after multiple attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

• KING: Countdown to pickoff: Getting ready for the 2015 NFL draft

The 37-year-old has had past legal troubles, including his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury in 2009 on weapons charges after he accidentally shot himself in the leg a New York nightclub. 

Burress caught the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII in 2008 to give the Giants an upset victory over the previously undefeated Patriots. 

- Will Green