Ex-Knicks Center Facing Prison Time Over Facetime, IRS Dispute

Former New York Knick and Atlanta Hawks center Randolph Morris

Photo: YouTube

Former New York Knick and Atlanta Hawks center Randolph Morris has failed to convince a federal judge to suppress statements he made during a FaceTime conversation with two IRS special agents while he was in China and they were in the kitchen of his Kentucky home.

In a ruling Friday from the U.S. district court in Lexington, Kentucky, Chief Judge Danny Reeves denied Morris’ motion to suppress evidence gathered during the intercontinental conversation on Sept. 12, 2018. The main reason: It was Morris’s idea to use FaceTime, and he was free to end the call.

Morris’s legal woes stem from allegations he failed to pay taxes on income earned while playing for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. According to a criminal indictment, the former University of Kentucky star earned $13.3 million in salary and bonuses from the Ducks between 2010 and 2017.

During that stretch, Morris was a teammate of Stephon Marbury and won the finals’ Most Valuable Player award. Morris, who played in the NBA between 2007 and 2010, bought a home in Lexington, Ky., in 2010 and established residence there.

Morris has pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing.

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