Lauryn Hill Charged for Not Reporting Taxes, Faces $300,000 Fine, Prison

Facebook fan page: Lauryn Hill
Grammy award winning singer Lauryn Hill

By Benge Nsenduluka , Christian Post Contributor

June 7, 2012|3:22 pm

Lauryn Hill has been formally charged with willfully failing to file income tax returns with the IRS over a 3-year period and is now facing jail time.

The Grammy award-winning singer allegedly failed to report her earning of more than $1.8 million during the years 2005, 2006 and 2007, the U.S. Attorney's office in New Jersey announced on Thursday.

Hill now faces up to one year in prison for each count and up to $300,000 in fines if she is convicted of the alleged crimes, according to TMZ.

The mother of six is said to be living in South Orange, N.J., and her net worth is said to be close to $9 million- accrued from her record sales, music tours and investments which she reportedly has in Jamaica.

The singer first rose to fame in the mid nineties when she became a lead member of the highly successfully music group "The Fugees" with Wyclef Jean.

The hip-hop group produced hit songs including "Killing Me Softly," and "Ready or Not" from their 1996 album "The Score" which won them a Grammy award.

Hill has five children with Rohan Marley, who is the son of reggae legend Bob Marley, and a son with another man.

The 37-year-old recently made headlines when she publicly spoke out in support of rapper Nicki Minaj, who was embroiled in a bitter feud with Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg after performing at Hot 97's Summer Jam concert in N.J.

"No disrespect to Nicki, but I need to clear up an inaccuracy. I was not scheduled to be a special guest on her set at Summer Jam, I was invited by Nas to perform with him. I don't have details on exactly what transpired between the station and the artists, but I do support artists standing by their beliefs, and walking with integrity," Hill tweeted.

"We have to find a better way to commercially exploit music, while giving artists their proper respect. This cannot be done while taking their contributions for granted, or trying to control the scope of their growth and power through threats and fear tactics," she added.

Hill is scheduled to appear in court to face the charges being brought against her on June 29th.