DMX pled guilty to tax fraud on Thursday, admitting that he had concealed millions of dollars in revenue in order to dodge paying $1.7 million in taxes.
He faces up to five years in prison during his sentencing in Manhattan federal court on the 29th March, however the date is likely to be pushed back as the rapper continues rehab for drug and alcohol issues.
In a released statement, acting US Attorney Joon Kim said DMX evaded the Internal Revenue Service by insisting to be paid in cash whenever possible and by having royalty payments diverted to the accounts of others, including managers.
Authorities have said that the IRS have been pursuing DMX since as long ago as 2005, when they realised he had evaded paying $1.7 million in taxes on millions of dollars in income he amassed from 2002 through 2005 as his hip-hop records sold millions.
Joon Kim has said DMX was “systematically cheating on his taxes”. He has also allegedly not filed tax returns from 2010 to 2015 when he managed to evade paying by maintaining a cash lifestyle, avoiding use of a personal bank account and paying bills through money put in other people’s bank accounts.