S. Samuel
Despite the fact rapper Ja Rule must stay behind bars for the next few years, the former Murder Inc. hip-hop star has reportedly been hit with a $4.3 million tax bill.
Details of Rule’s latest legal woe emerged online this week.
The state of New Jersey sent imprisoned rapper Ja Rule a welcome to prison gift last month — a $4.3 million delinquent tax bill. The bill puts a precise figure on the 35-year-old’s tax debt, which is one of the reasons Ja Rule’s in a New York prison now. And while the lyric spitter’s slumping sales puts him in Vanilla Ice territory, his tax problems rank in Lil Wayne’s league. The state of New Jersey filed a $4,317,189 tax lien against Ja Rule and his wife Sept. 8 in New Jersey Superior Court. The address on the lien is Ja Rule’s home in Saddle River, N.J (Detroit News)
In July, Rule received over two years in jail for tax evasion.
Rapper Jeffrey Atkins, also known as Ja Rule, was sentenced Monday to 28 months in prison for failing to file tax returns with the IRS after admitting that he did not file his taxes for five years, the Justice Department said in a news release Monday. The 35-year-old performer from Saddle River, New Jersey, had pleaded guilty to three of five counts before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz, who imposed the sentence in Newark federal court. (CNN)
Prior to receiving the sentence, Rule defended his past financial mistakes.
“I in no way attempted to deceive the government or do anything illegal,” he said, minutes before being sentenced in a New Jersey federal court. “I was a young man who made a lot of money — I’m getting a little choked up — I didn’t know how to deal with these finances, and I didn’t have people to guide me, so I made mistakes.” (Associated Press)
In April, Rule made headlines for failing to file federal taxes over the course of five years.
Rapper Ja Rule could go to prison for three years but likely will be fined after admitting in federal court in Newark today that he ducked $1.1 million in federal income taxes on nearly $4.4 million in royalties and live performance payments over five years. U.S. Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz allowed 35-year-old Jeffrey Atkins, who lives in the tony Bergen community of Saddle River, to remain free on $500,000 bail pending a scheduled June 13 sentencing. (Cliffview Pilot)
In June, Ja Rule began a two year jail sentence for a gun conviction.
Check out some recent Ja Rule footage down below:
