Rapper pleads guilty to tax fraud

December 2, 2017 7:47 PM

DMX faces up to five years in prison following sentencing in Manhattan federal court.

The rapper now faces up to five years in prison following sentencing in Manhattan federal court

NYDailyNews reports that the judge presiding over the case, Jed Rakoff set sentencing for March 29, 2018, although the date might be postponed due to DMX's rehabilitation program for drug and alcohol issues.

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You will recall that the 46-year-old hip-hop artist and actor was arrested in 2015.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim, in a statement, said that DMX evaded the Internal Revenue Service by insisting to be paid in cash whenever possible and by keeping royalty payments diverted to the accounts of people such as his managers.

According to the reports, the authorities revealed that the IRS has been on to DMX since 2005 at least when they realized that he had managed to evade paying $1.7 million in taxes on millions of dollars in income he gathered from 2002 to 2005 as his hip-hop records sold millions.

Kim said DMX was "systematically cheating on his taxes."

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The prosecutor added that DMX had decided to do the right thing and plead guilty and agree to pay his taxes.

"No matter who you are or whatever fame you may have achieved, the law applies equally to all, and no one is exempt from the shared obligation to pay our taxes," Kim said.

In another statement, prosecutors said that DMX also failed to file tax returns from 2010 through 2015, when he evaded paying taxes by maintaining a cash lifestyle, avoiding the use of a personal bank account and paying bills through money put in the bank accounts of others.

The statement also revealed that he deposited hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalty income from music recordings into the bank accounts of his managers, who gave him cash to spend.

The government stated that he also participated in a "Celebrity Couples Therapy" television show in 2011 and 2012 in exchange for $125,000, but refused to participate for a time until the producer agreed to provide paychecks without removing taxes.

DMX also reportedly filed a false affidavit in U.S. Bankruptcy Court listing his income as "unknown" for 2011 and 2012 and as $10,000 for 2013, despite the fact that he had made hundreds of thousands of dollars in income during those years.

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In court, the rapper did try to play the blame game when he said that he "put other people in charge of me" during years when he was producing hits, including the 2003 song "X Gon' Give it to Ya."

However, he admitted, saying: "I'm responsible. ... I failed to file taxes."

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