NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Rapper and actor Ja Rule was sentenced Monday to more than two years in federal prison for failing to file income tax returns.
“I in no way attempted to deceive the government or do anything illegal. I was a young man who made a lot of money,” he said minutes before being sentenced. “I didn’t know how to deal with these finances, and I didn’t have people to guide me, so I made mistakes.”
The platinum-selling rapper, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, admitted in March that he failed to pay taxes on more than $3 million that he earned between 2004 and 2006 while living in Saddle River.
Ja Rule was sentenced in New York City last month to up to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty to attempted criminal weapon possession. The case stemmed from a gun found in his luxury sports car in July 2007.
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