DMX IN THE DOCK FOR TAX DODGING
The rapper and actor allegedly concealed his huge income by maintaining a cash-only lifestyle
Rap artist and Hollywood actor DMX (above) was arrested on Thursday and accused by US federal prosecutors of engaging in a tax dodging scheme. The 46-year-old performer, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was accused of concealing millions of dollars of income to avoid paying $1.7 million in taxes.
According to an indictment unsealed in the federal court in Manhattan, Simmons aka DMX was charged with tax evasion; evasion of assessment of income tax liability; corruptly endeavouring to obstruct administration of IRS laws; and the failure to file a US individual income tax return.
A lawyer for Simmons, Murray Richman, said that Simmons planned to enter a not guilty plea. He said that while Simmons concentrated on music, he had been “charged over the failure of others to do what he hired them to do”. If convicted, Simmons faces a maximum of 44 years in prison on each of the charges, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said that Simmons took great pains to evade his tax obligations, such as maintaining a cashonly lifestyle and not having a personal bank account.
He also deposited his royalty cheques into the bank accounts of his managers, who then gave him cash or used the money to pay his personal expenses, prosecutors said.
At one point, prosecutors said, the actor-musician filed a false affidavit in the US Bankruptcy Court, listing his income as “unknown” for 2011 and 2012, and as $10,000 for 2013, when he received hundreds of thousands of dollars of income in each of those years.
The rap star’s arrest record includes charges of animal cruelty, reckless driving, drug possession, weapons charges and probation violations. He has had several felony convictions and has served prison time in Arizona.
Simmons’ albums such as It’s Dark and Hell is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood feature song lyrics rife with violence and rage. The rapper has also starred in the 1998 crime drama Belly, the 2000 action movie Romeo Must Die and the 2003 heist film Cradle 2 The Grave.