S. Samuel
Grammy-winning rapper Lauryn Hill has reportedly paid more than $900,000 to settle debts on the eve of her publicized federal tax evasion sentencing appearance.
Details of Hill’s seemingly overnight payout bubbled online Sunday (May 5).
Lauryn Hill, on the eve of her scheduled sentencing on federal tax evasion charges, has paid off the balance of more than $900,000 she owed in back taxes and penalties, her attorney said on Sunday. The Grammy-winning musician is scheduled for sentencing on Monday in U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey on three charges she failed to file tax returns on more than $1.8 million between 2005 and 2007. She faces up to a year in jail for each charge, but the final sentence is expected to be adjusted based on her repayment of the money, her attorney said. She owed at least $504,000 in federal back taxes as well as state taxes and penalties that brought the estimated total to more than $900,000. (amNY)
Hill’s attorney also spoke on the hefty legal case and how she has fulfilled all outstanding debts.
“Ms Hill has not only now fully paid prior to sentencing her taxes, which are part of her criminal restitution, but she has additionally fully paid her federal and state personal taxes for the entire period under examination through 2009,” her attorney, Nathan Hochman, said in an email. (amNY)
Over the weekend, Lauryn also penned a tribute record to late rapper Chris Kelly who died a few days ago.
It’s been 15 years since Lauryn Hill released her debut solo album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” Since then she hasn’t been a huge presence in the music scene … until now. Hill, 37, released a new song “Neurotic Society (Compulsory Mix)” on her Tumblr page Saturday and stayed true to her outspoken, candid delivery by referencing her dismay over our “toxic society.” “Hello All: Here is a link to a piece that I was ‘required’ to release immediately, by virtue of the impending legal deadline,” she wrote. “I love being able to reach people directly, but in an ideal scenario, I would not have to rush the release of new music … but the message is still there.” (NY Daily News)
Last month, Hill received additional time to get her finances in place before being sentenced in her tax case.
Lauryn Hill just bought herself a couple weeks of freedom. The R&B legend was to be sentenced to prison today after pleading guilty to blowing off her 2005-2007 tax returns … but the sentencing was moved to May 6 to give Lauryn a chance to repay a chunk of her $968,000 tax debt. Hill’s attorney said the singer recently signed a million-dollar recording deal with Sony … she was also planning to take out a $650,000 loan to put toward the bill. Hill faces several years in prison … but her attorney is hoping for probation. (TMZ)
Recently, reports claimed Lauryn wanted leniency in her tax evasion case.
After pleading guilty to tax evasion last June, multiple Grammy winner and former Fugee Lauryn Hill is making one last ditch effort to avoid jail time. In advance of her scheduled sentencing this Monday, April 22, Hill filed legal documents requesting that her sentence be limited to probation, as it would make it easier for her to pay back the bill she owes for the three years–2005, 2006, and 2007–she did not file taxes. Over those three years, Hill earned a reported $1.8 million, but the documents explain she did not pay the IRS because she “withdrew from society at large due to what she perceived as manipulation and very real threats to herself and her family.” (Entertainment Weekly)
