In June, United States Department of Justice lawyers alleged in a lawsuit filed in a California federal court that former NFL linebacker Bill Romanowski and his wife, Julie, owe roughly $15.3 million in unpaid back taxes.

Now comes word via Tom Schad of USA Today that the Romanowskis filed for bankruptcy Monday, less than 24 hours after a scheduled hearing Tuesday was set to begin regarding the matter.

Per Schad, the bankruptcy filing buys the Romanowskis "a temporary reprieve, triggering an automatic pause in the Department of Justice's efforts to collect on the alleged money owed."

The Justice Department claims that the Romanowskis didn't pay millions in income tax between 1998 and 2007. They also claimed that the Romanowskis used money from their nutrition company Nutrition53, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, to pay for personal expenses.

"In attempts to avoid reporting federal income and repaying those taxes, the couple then used money from Nutrition53, the nutritional supplement company they founded, to pay for personal expenses and those of their two children, government lawyers say," Schad wrote.

"According to court records, Bill and Julie Romanowski opened up bank accounts on behalf of Nutrition53 but then used money in those accounts to pay for everything from the rent for their 6,000-square-foot home in California to groceries, veterinarian expenses and 'over 170 visits to nail salons, hair salons and day spas.'"

"By using N53 to pay their personal living expenses and those of their adult children, the Romanowskis have improperly used N53 to thwart the IRS's collection of the individual income tax assessments at issue in this case," the lawsuit stated.

The scheduled hearing was in response to a Department of Justice motion "for default judgment against the Romanowskis, asking a judge to immediately rule in the government's favor," per Schad.

Romanowski played in the NFL from 1988-2003 with the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders, winning four Super Bowls and five conference titles along the way. The two-time Pro Bowler finished his career with 1,118 tackles, 39.5 sacks, 18 interceptions and 16 forced fumbles. He did not miss a game over his first 15 seasons.

His career, though, was rife with controversy, and some consider him one of the dirtiest players in NFL history due to numerous incidents. Most notably, he broke Raiders tight end (and then-teammate) Marcus Williams' eye socket during a 2003 practice, ending his NFL career. Williams sued Romanowski and won over $400,000 in court. Romanowski also admitted in 2005 to using steroids and HGH.