Former NBA player Robert "Tractor" Traylor receives probation in tax-fraud case

DETROIT (AP) -A federal judge sentenced Robert "Tractor" Traylor to three years of probation Friday after the former NBA player admitted to preparing a false tax return that hid assets of a convicted drug dealer.

Traylor, 30, pleaded guilty in January to a charge of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. He could have been sentenced to up to 14 months in federal prison.

Traylor, who now plays professionally in Puerto Rico, will serve the first three months of his probation in a halfway house and the next three months in home confinement. His sentence will be served in the offseason, the court said.

At Traylor's sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn also ordered him to submit within 90 days to the Internal Revenue Service any previously unfiled federal income tax returns. Cohn also ordered Traylor to make himself and any corroborating tax information regarding the 2004 tax year available to the IRS.

Traylor's name was used to make it appear that he purchased two Detroit rental properties. The properties actually were owned by Quasand Lewis, a convicted drug trafficker and money launderer who is Traylor's cousin, according to federal prosecutors.

In 1998, Traylor was drafted in the first round, sixth overall, by the Dallas Mavericks. He played for Milwaukee, Charlotte, New Orleans and Cleveland from 1998-2005. Traylor signed with New Jersey as a free agent before the 2005-06 season but failed a physical and never played for the Nets.