Rapper DMX pleaded guilty to tax fraud on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
DMX, also known as Earl Simmons, admitted that he hid millions of dollars in revenue in order to dodge $1.7 million in taxes.
The rapper faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced in Manhattan federal court. According to the AP, Judge Jed Rakoff set sentencing for March 29, a date which will probably be postponed given Simmons’ continued rehabilitation for drug and alcohol issues.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said in a statement that DMX evaded the IRS by insisting to be paid in cash as much as possible and by having royalty payments redirected to accounts of other people, according to the AP.
The IRS has been investigating DMX since at least 2005, authorities said, but the rapper was only arrested last summer.
According to ABC News, Simmons was charged with 14 counts. As part of his plea agreement, he is required to pay restitution to the IRS.
In a release, prosecutors said that DMX also did not file tax returns from 2010 to 2015, at which point he evaded taxes by being paid in cash, avoiding the use of his personal bank account and paying bills through accounts of others. According to the prosecutors, he put hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties from his music into the bank accounts of his managers, who then gave him cash.
He also appeared on the “Celebrity Couples Therapy” TV show in 2011 and 2012 and was paid $125,000. At first, he refused to participate until the producer agreed to provide paychecks without withholding taxes.
Prosecutors also said he listed his income as “income” in a false affidavit in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in 2011 and 2012, and $10,000 for 2013, according to the AP.
A spokesperson for DMX has not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.