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Philadelphia rapper Beanie Sigel will spend the next 24 months in federal prison, for failing to file income tax returns.
Beanie Sigel, born Dwight Grant, is being ordered to pay the IRS $728,536, for taxes on six years of income, from 1999-2005.
In April of 2012, Beanie Sigel pleaded guilty to three counts of failure to file income tax returns.
In total, Beanie Sigel earned over $2.2 million in taxable income during those years, yet he only paid $10,000 in taxes.
Part of the prison sentence was due to Beanie’s conduct, according to the sentencing memorandum.
The IRS accused the rapper of failing to cooperate with his probation officer’s attempts to determine his financial condition.
“For all we know, Grant has earned a significant sum of money and simply squirreled it away out of the reach of the government,” the sentencing memorandum reads. “He would not even cooperate with the probation officer to permit a home visit, a most basic part of the pre-sentencing procedure.”
The sentencing was also based on the rapper’s previous convictions and “his overall poor criminal history.”
According to the government, Beanie Sigel began his criminal life at the age of 15 and 23 years later, despite being a world-renowned artist, continues to run into trouble with the law.
The prison sentence comes as Beanie Sigel was mounting a comeback in his recording career.
In March of 2012, the rapper inked a deal with Chris Schwartz’s new record label through EMI and released a mixtape titled “Broad Street Empire Vol.1: Lost Files.”
Beanie Sigel was also working on an album of all new material titled The Classic.
So far, representatives for Beanie Sigel have yet to comment.
Check out some footage of Beanie leaving court after he pleaded guilty to the charges below:
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