Millions Transferred From Golfer Phil Mickelson Reportedly Tied to Illegal Gambling

Golfer Phil Mickelson is in hot water after court documents revealed that about $3 million was transferred to his account and the amount reportedly came from illegal gambling activities.

ESPN said that the five-time major champion and popular golfer has not yet been charged in relation to the huge money transfer and is also not being investigated.

The same report, however, noted that a former gambling handicapper admitted his participation to laundering $2.75 million that allegedly belonged to Mickelson.

A certain Gregory Silveira of La Quinta reportedly pleaded guilty to three counts of money laundering from an "unknown gambling client from 2010 to 2013" with ESPN sources claiming that the client was indeed Mickelson.

Silveria is set to be sentenced this coming October and could face a maximum of 60 years in jail.

Forbes noted that this is not the first time that Mickelson was involved in illegal money transactions because last year his name also got tied to "a federal insider trading investigation primarily focused on Carl Icahn, an investment tycoon and Billy Walters, a notorious sports gambler." He was, however, cleared from his alleged involvement on the said case.

He reportedly earned more than $77 million in a span of three decades on the PGA Tour and inked hefty endorsement delas with Callaway, Barclays, KPMG, Exxon Mobil, Rolex and Amgen which also pay him millions in earnings.

In 2001, he was also reprimanded by the PGA Tour after he won $500 from Mike Weir during the NEC Invitational. This is reportedly just one of his many "casual money matches."

It was also noted in the Forbes report that Mickelson is also a big winner in betting games for major sporting events like the Super Bowl. His gambling activities are also said to be no secret to the public since he is reportedly a well known big winner in Las Vegas.

New York Daily News noted that the golfer has yet to release a statement on the matter. His spokesperson TR Reinman only told the news agency that "there is no statement forthcoming." 

He will not be appearing in public until his next match scheduled next week in the Scottish Open at Gullane, which will be followed by the British Open at St. Andrews. Mickelson recently finished at the 64th spot at the US Open at Chambers Bay. According to New York Daily News, he has not won a tournament since his victory at the 2013 British Open.

This is another crossroad for Mickelson who is expected to speak up soon on the matter. It is also not clear whether he may be facing charges for being linked to illegal gambling activities.