According to documents filed earlier this week, 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Jerry Yang (pictured) has had several items seized by California and U.S. Government tax officials to settle unpaid taxes.

The Internal Revenue Service seized 16 pieces of Yang’s property. His Main Event bracelet (pictured below) is among those items, made of 136 grams of white gold and 120 diamonds, all designed by Corum, as well as a watch awarded to Yang by the WSOP and Corum to commemorate the victory. A value on the bracelet is difficult to discern, but the watch itself is valued as high as $30,000. Read the listing.

In addition to the two official pieces of WSOP memorabilia, Federal tax officials seized other jewelry from Yang to pay off his back taxes. A bracelet adorned with “WSOP Champ” and emblazoned with the year 2007 on each side is listed as a “WSOP bracelet” by Federal authorities, but is more than likely something Yang had created for him. Other watches, ladies’ jewelry, an “Ace of Hearts” pendant with white diamonds, and a piece of Hmong cultural jewelry round out the 16 items.

According to the official release from the IRS, these items will be auctioned off in Sacramento, California on April 4 at 11:00am Pacific Time. The seized jewelry will first be offered as an aggregate sale, meaning that the potential buyer would purchase the entire lot, and then it will be sold as singular pieces. Whichever method receives the highest bid amount will be the one that purchases the items seized from Yang. The minimum bid is set at $6,389.40, but it is expected that the sale of the jewelry will be much higher than that.

It is not clear how Yang got himself into this position. In February, the Internal Revenue Service filed a Notice of Encumbrances against Yang. Four of these liens were owed to the Madera County (CA) Recorder’s Office totaling $3,860.50. These liens date back to 2004, three years prior to Yang’s stunning run to the WSOP title, and it isn’t indicated what the liens were levied on.

Of potentially more interest in the Notice of Encumbrances is the bill that’s owed to the IRS, apparently resulting from Yang’s WSOP Main Event win. In 2007, the IRS put a Notice of Federal Tax Lien totaling $571,894.54 and repeated the same amount the next year. On top of that, there is a $461.11 Federal tax lien for 2012, meaning that Yang owes the Federal Government either $572,355.65 or a whopping $1,144,250.19 if the 2007 and 2008 liens are combined.

In 2007, Yang stated that he would give 10% of his WSOP Main Event winnings to charitable causes such as Make a Wish Foundation, Feed the Children, and Ronald McDonald House. He also made a donation to his alma mater, Loma Linda University. Other than investing approximately $550,000 in opening and operating a restaurant, Pocket 8’s Sushi & Grill (named for his hole cards from his 2007 championship), it doesn’t appear that Yang has blown through the money from his victory, although it appears he cannot pay the tax liens.

For his part, Yang has kept quiet on the swirl of activities regarding his tax situation. He continually updates his status on Facebook while he works in his restaurant and occasionally dabbles in tournaments across the United States. Since his $8.25 million win in 2007, Yang has earned 18 cashes in tournament poker, including four at the WSOP, for a grand total of slightly more than $154,000.

Yang isn’t the first poker player to run afoul of the IRS when it comes to their financial dealings, and probably won’t be the last. In 2010, Michael Mizrachi had property seized by the IRS to pay back taxes totaling around $340,000. After that seizure, Mizrachi stormed to the 2010 Poker Player’s Championship title, a feat he repeated in 2012, and finished in eighth place in the 2010 Main Event. In the time since the Feds took action against him, Mizrachi has won over $7 million.

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