Reports indicate that Lauryn Hill has pleaded guilty to tax evasion.
During her scheduled court appearance in Newark, New Jersey, the singer remained silent while her attorney, Nathan Hochman, entered a guilty plea on her behalf.
US Magistrate Michael Shipp has agreed to postpone the sentencing from October to late November, allowing Hill some time to repay her owed taxes. The singer faces three charges for evading tax payments between 2005 and 2007, during which she reportedly earned approximately $1.8 million from her music and film royalties. Each charge carries a potential penalty of one year in prison, alongside a $100,000 fine.
In a lengthy, 1,300-word statement, Hill previously addressed the issue, stating that she had “left a more mainstream and public life” to distance herself “from a lifestyle that required distortion and compromise as a means for maintaining it”.
Furthermore, the singer asserted that she prioritized the “safety and health of my family first over all other material concerns” and mentioned that she had “conveyed all of this when questioned as to why I did not file taxes during this time period”.
The former Fugees member also remarked: “My intention has always been to get this situation rectified.”
Fans are anticipating her long-awaited second album, ‘The Return’, which is expected to be released later this year, although a specific date has yet to be announced. Hill’s 1998 solo debut, ‘The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill’, achieved five Grammy Awards and approximately 15 million copies sold worldwide.
by Wallace McTavish
