Lauryn Hill Sentenced to Three Months in Federal Prison
Lauryn Hill has been sentenced to 3 months in federal prison for tax evasion, as well as another 3 months of home confinement.
Additionally, she’ll serve a year of probation and must pay a $60,000 fine.
In a courtroom statement, Hill contended that she’d always intended to pay her taxes, but was unable to come up with the money during a time in which she’d dropped out of the music industry.
Hill will begin serving her sentence on July 8th.
Hill had faced a maximum sentence of one year each on three counts. Her lawyer, Nathan Hochman, had argued for probation.
Hochman said Hill had paid more than $970,000 to satisfy her tax liabilities.
Last month, Hill used Tumblr to address media reports that stated she’d reached new label deal with Sony Worldwide Entertainment to release music that would help her pay the tax debts. Hill confirmed a deal with Sony but said the reported nature of the deal and dollar amounts involved were inaccurate.
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Hill received more than $1.8 million in income during 2005, 2006 and 2007 but didn’t file tax returns during that time. Although her guilty plea specifically related to that three-year period, Fishman said her sentence also took into account additional income and tax losses for 2008 and 2009, when she similarly failed to file tax returns. The sentence also addressed overdue New Jersey state taxes.
Very sad news for Hill, her family, and her fans.
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