The Washington Commanders and team owner Dan Snyder has had a long couple of years. It might be about to get worse. Wednesday evening it was announced that the U.S. Attorney's office has opened a criminal investigation into the Commanders, citing potential financial crimes.

The inquiry was reportedly precipitated by a letter the House Committee on Oversight and Reform sent to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). According to ESPN senior writer Don Van Natta Jr., the letter claimed deceptive business practices for more than a decade.

That includes withholding ticket revenue from visiting teams and refundable deposits from fans.

According to testimony before the House by a former employee, the Commanders would make it intentionally difficult for season ticket holders to recoup refundable deposit money. The Commanders would then allegedly set that money aside and fail to report the revenue to the NFL.

The Commanders released a scathing statement of ESPN, saying “It is not surprising that ESPN is publishing more falsehoods based solely on anonymous sources — given today's announcement.” The announcement referenced in the statement was the breaking news that the Commanders have hired Bank of America to potentially help Dan Snyder sell the franchise.

The NFL, U.S. Attorney's office and FTC have all declined comment thus far.

The House committee that previously investigated the Commanders claimed, through access to emails and witness testimony from multiple former employees, a pattern of financial misdeeds Snyder and other team executives.

One particular former employee testified that the Commanders had two books. One they would send financial information to the league and another they kept for themselves that included all of the franchise's finances.