National Football League

Is Packers great in hot water with IRS over charity work?

Published Nov. 22, 2013 2:34 a.m. ET

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Federal tax investigators are looking into former Green Bay Packer LeRoy Butler's charity work, according to a report.

The Green Bay Press Gazette on Thursday reported that the IRS is probing why Butler has been raising money in Wisconsin over the last decade but has made only one annual filing with the agency. The LeRoy Butler Foundation hasn't filed with the IRS since 2002, even though he continued raising money under that name through this year.

According to the Press Gazette, both a former Butler associate and "a Wausau businessman" said they had spoken to federal agents about dealings with Butler's charities.

A second charity, the LeRoy Butler Scholarship Fund, was founded in 2009 but had its tax-exempt status revoked by the IRS after failing to file returns by 2012. The only return on file from Butler since 2002 is a short-form 2011 filing for the scholarship fund submitted after the revocation.

Last month, Butler gave an interview to the Gannett Wisconsin Media explaining why he did not file returns with the IRS:

The Post Gazette also reported that Butler on Monday posted to Facebook that he had been cooperating with the IRS while also conducting an "independent review to determine if [the LeRoy Butler Foundation] was operating in compliance with federal guidelines."

Butler posted this to Facebook on Sunday:

Butler also reportedly tweeted that he felt the story made him look "money hungry," though that Tweet no longer appears on his feed.

Butler played 12 seasons in the NFL, all with Green Bay. He was a four-time first-team All Pro was on the team that won Super Bowl XXXI in January 1997.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report