Former Kentucky basketball star indicted on wire fraud charges over pro earnings
A former All-SEC basketball player at the University of Kentucky has been indicted on federal charges after he allegedly failed to report millions of dollars he made playing professional basketball overseas.
Randolph Morris, who played at UK from 2004-07 and had a short stint in the NBA, was indicted on charges of wire fraud and making false statements on his federal tax returns, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He failed to report more than $13 million in income, which he made in the Chinese Basketball Association, according to the indictment.
Morris, 35, allegedly submitted false income information to the Kentucky Department of Revenue in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 tax years, depriving the state of more than $400,000 of tax revenue, according to the Department of Justice. He made more than $1 million in each of those years. He also failed to report some income on federal returns in multiple years, prosecutors allege.
Morris spent several years in the Chinese Basketball Association, all with a team named the Beijing Ducks. Morris’ contract for his first season with the Beijing Ducks in 2010-11 was $600,000, according to his indictment. He made as much as $2.6 million in salary and bonuses in the 2015 tax year.
Morris is faced with a total of three wire fraud counts for allegedly failing to report any of his earnings from 2015, 2016 and 2017, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He’s faced with eight additional counts of making false statements on his federal tax returns for failing to report his earnings from the Beijing Ducks on his federal 1040 and 1040A forms from 2010 through 2017.
Morris faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each wire fraud count, according to the Department of Justice. He faces a maximum prison sentence of three years for the counts of making false statements on tax returns.
Morris bought a house in Lexington in 2010 and maintained that as his residence until at least 2018, according to the indictment.
While playing in China, Morris teamed up with Stephon Marbury to win league championships with the Ducks in 2012, 2014 and 2015. He was the Chinese Basketball Association’s Finals MVP in 2014.
Morris’ UK career featured a First Team All-SEC selection when he averaged 16.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game as a junior. He signed with the NBA’s New York Knicks in 2007 and then played for the Atlanta Hawks from 2008 to 2010 before going overseas.
Morris also played in 2019 for Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut, a basketball team in Lebanon.
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 2:24 PM.