SAN FRANCISCO, December 01, (THEWILL) – DMX, the US rapper best known for his taunting song ‘Party Up (Up in Here),’ faces prison time after he pleaded guilty to evading $1.7 million in tax payments.
Prosecutors said the 46-year-old rapper and actor avoided taxes by living virtually only on cash, without maintaining a bank account or filing required returns to the Internal Revenue Service.
DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, admitted guilt before a federal judge in New York and agreed to pay back taxes, prosecutors said.
The rapper, who will be sentenced on March 29 and faces up to five years in prison, could have been hit with up to 40 years in prison if he had been tried and convicted on all counts.
“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,” Joon Kim, the acting US attorney for the southern district of New York, said in a statement.
With his deep voice and dark, often violent lyrics, DMX became a major star in hip-hop in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
He has faced frequent legal problems on charges that include animal cruelty, drug possession and failure to pay child support.
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