Lauryn Hill Sentence for Tax Evasion Delayed: Failure to Pay May Result in 30 Months Jail Time
A federal judge postponed sentencing Lauryn Hill on tax evasion and giving her until May 6 to make restitution.
On April 22, U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo took the Hip Hop icon to task for not having made the total sum payment of $554,000. She pleaded guilty last year for not paying federal taxes on $1.8 million earned from 2005 to 2007.
At the time, her attorney assured the court that money would be paid in full by her next court appearance but she has only submitted $50,000.
Arleo reprimanded Hill for her failure to do so, noting that she has a stream of revenue from her albums such as the Grammy winning The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
"This is not someone who stands before the court penniless," Arleo said to Hill's attorney, Nathan Hochman. "This is a criminal matter. Actions speak louder than words, and there has been no effort here to pay these taxes."
During the hearing, Hill did not make any comments and let her attorney Hochman speak on her behalf. He told the court that she had signed two loans totaling $650,000 against her properties and that the 37- year old mother of six be able to be in compliance by the next court date.
Hill previously stated that threats against her life and family were the reason why she fell behind on her taxes. Also, at the time of her arrest, she lamented in a blog post that she hadn't paid taxes because she had become withdrawn from society because of a "climate of hostility, false entitlement, manipulation, racial prejudice, sexism and ageism."
The judge said she would not be swayed to offer Hill another opportunity to make amends with the court. If she fails to pay by the next hearing, Hill could be sentenced to up to 30 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
