Every year, hundreds of people go to battle with the IRS and that includes a lot of celebrities. When it comes to Uncle Sam, everyone is open for levies and liens. On this month’s Celebrity Tax Trouble, two celebrities are headed to jail over tax evasion and tax fraud charges, while another fends off another tax lien after paying one off. You can catch other celebrities facing tax trouble here. 

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino is well in a bit of a situation himself. Mike, best known for starring on MTV’s “Jersey Shore”, has been sentenced to prison for tax evasion. The reality TV star was sentenced to eight months in prison along with two years of supervised release by the New Jersey federal court. Along with the jail sentence, Mike must also pay a fine of $10,000 within 30 days and complete 500 hours of community service.

The jail sentence comes after Sorrentino pleaded guilty to tax evasion and concealing income, stemming from a 2014 indictment for falsifying business and personal tax returns. Mikes brother, Marc, was also involved in the tax evasion and was sentenced to two years in prison and a $75,000 fine.

The brothers were charged by a U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, who charged the brothers with filing false tax returns and inaccurately reporting $8.9 million in income. According to reports, Mike did not pay any income tax in 2011, despite making around $2 million.

Courtney Love

Courtney Love isn’t getting out of tax trouble anytime soon. The former lead singer of “Hold” currently owes the IRS over half a million dollars in unpaid taxes for 2016. The singer was slapped with a lien from the IRS for a total of $568,674.62 after she failed to pay her taxes for 2016. This lien comes after Love reportedly paid over $300,000 to settle her growing tax debt and release a different tax lien for unpaid taxes from 2012.

Love is no stranger to tax troubles as she had to pay off over $250,000 two years ago for tax debt she owed back from 2011. The tax debt comes after the singer says she has lost about $27 million due to lawsuits.

DMX Headed to Jail

It looks like Rap Singer DMX will be facing some jail time. Earl Simmons, known as singer DMX, will spend a year in jail for tax evasion. The singer pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. DMX was arrested and charged with tax fraud for allegedly evading $1.7 million in taxes. The IRS along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York have accused the 46-year-old performer of engaging in a scheme to conceal millions of dollars in income from the IRS from 2002 to 2005. Prosecutors claimed he maintained a “cash lifestyle” by avoiding the use of a personal bank account. DMX has disputed this claim.

Along with serving time in prison, DMX must pay $2.29 million in taxes back to the government. DMX originally faced 14 different charges and was looking at more than one year in jail. The prosecution had recommended five years when DMX plead guilty, but the judge knocked his sentence down to one year.

It doesn’t matter if you owe $20,000 or $20 million to the IRS, Polston Tax can help! Our team of tax attorneys and accountants can help get you back on track! Call us today at 844-841-9857 or click below to schedule your free consultation!