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Cry for me Argentina: Messi facing prosecution for $5.4 million tax evasion

July 28, 2014
Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring his side's second goal during the group F World Cup soccer match between Argentina and Bosnia at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, June 15, 2014. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates scoring his side’s second goal during the group F World Cup soccer match between Argentina and Bosnia at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, June 15, 2014. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is being prosecuted by a Spanish court for an alleged $5.4 million tax evasion.

In June, a prosecutor requested that the judge drop the case against Messi and press forward with charges on just his father, Jorge Messi, who handles his son’s finances. The request was denied Monday, the Guardian reported.

The star forward and his father were accused of defrauding about $5.4 million from Spain in false tax returns based around shell companies, according to CBS Sports.

The judge said Messi “could have known about and consented” to the scheme, which allegedly ran from 2006 to 2009.