"Lean Back" rapper Fat Joe has been sentenced to four months in prison over tax evasion. On top of the jail time, he must pay a $15,000 fine and undergo one year of supervised release.
As the Associated Press reports, the sentence was handed down by U.S. Magistrate Cathy Waldor earlier today (June 24) at a Newark, NJ court room, where the rapper, whose real name is is Joseph Cartagena, apologized to family and supporters.
Fat Joe had plead guilty to the charges back in December 2012, admitting that he had failed to pay income on over $1 million of earnings between 2007 and 2008. At the time, he told the court that he blamed "fancy guys in bow ties" for failing to keep his finances in check, but he took responsibility for the failure to pay taxes.
The government alleged he had failed to pay taxes on $3 million between 2007 and 2010, with a tax loss estimated at $718,038.
While Fat Joe is a resident of Miami, he was tried in the Garden State because of businesses he owns in Somerville, NJ.
Though currently out $250,000 bail, he must report to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons by August 26 to serve his sentence.
As the Associated Press reports, the sentence was handed down by U.S. Magistrate Cathy Waldor earlier today (June 24) at a Newark, NJ court room, where the rapper, whose real name is is Joseph Cartagena, apologized to family and supporters.
Fat Joe had plead guilty to the charges back in December 2012, admitting that he had failed to pay income on over $1 million of earnings between 2007 and 2008. At the time, he told the court that he blamed "fancy guys in bow ties" for failing to keep his finances in check, but he took responsibility for the failure to pay taxes.
The government alleged he had failed to pay taxes on $3 million between 2007 and 2010, with a tax loss estimated at $718,038.
While Fat Joe is a resident of Miami, he was tried in the Garden State because of businesses he owns in Somerville, NJ.
Though currently out $250,000 bail, he must report to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons by August 26 to serve his sentence.
