Lauryn Hill Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion, Faces Prison Time
Lauryn Hill is facing three years behind bars after pleading guilty to tax evasion.
According to TMZ, the Fugees frontwoman told a judge on Friday that she intentionally failed to file tax returns from 2005, 2006, and 2007, when she earned more than $1.8 million. In addition to prison time, she could be hit with a $75,000 fine.
When the judge asked Hill if she “intentionally and willingly” failed to file the returns, she replied, “Yes.”
She was released on $150,000 bail and will be sentenced in November.
In a previous letter posted online, Hill defended her actions, claiming to have removed herself and her family from society during those three years in order to “keep them safe, healthy, and free from danger.”
“For the past several years, I have remained what others would consider underground,” she wrote. “I kept my life relatively simple, even after huge successes, but it became increasingly obvious that certain indulgences and privileges were expected to come at the expense of my free soul, free mind, and therefore my health and integrity.”
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