Che scandalo! It feels like something out of a Hollywood movie: a once-powerful world leader in court on a series of charges including tax fraud, sex crimes, and a police cover-up, a Moroccan dancer as the victim and the hunky actor, George Clooney as a potential witness (honestly, how many times do you see the…
A “barbaric and backward legal system” has spoken and artist Ai Weiwei has heard it loud and clear. Chinese authorities have denied Weiwei’s appeal of his $2.4 million tax bill. Last year, Ai made headlines when he announced that he would challenge charges filed against him for tax evasion; Ai and his supporters claim that…
It’s official: Rapper Beanie Sigel will be returning to jail. Today, a federal judge sentenced Sigel to two years behind bars for tax-related crimes. As reported in April, Sigel, whose real name is Dwight Grant, pleaded guilty in 2011 to failing to file federal income tax returns for 2003, 2004 and 2005. Last year, the…
As expected, entertainer Lauryn Hill has pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion. Ms. Hill did not speak after the recent hearing but her attorney indicated that she was prepared to pay the tax due on the nearly $2 million she failed to report in 2005, 2006, and 2007. As a result, her sentencing was…
It’s the end of the world as he knows it – and he doesn’t quite feel fine. Ronald Weinland was fairly certain that the world was ending… sometime. Weinland served as a minister for a Cincinnati, Ohio based church, the Church of God – Preparing for the Kingdom of God, which streamed sermons live on…
Earlier in the week, I reported that entertainer Lauryn Hill was charged with failing to file tax returns for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007. I suggested that there was evidence in her background (specifically, statements made by her former Fugees bandmate and friend, Wyclef Jean) that might point towards mental illness or other related…
When I was in law school, my friend, Madeline and I would often make the long walk to the Vet to watch the Phillies play ball. Afterward, on the walk back home, we’d swing by Nifty Fifty’s, a fifties-style diner, in the heart of South Philly, for a milkshake. It was always busy and it…
Lauryn Hill has been charged with failing to file three years’ worth of tax returns. The 37-year-old entertainer currently lives in South Orange, N.J. She first made waves as part of the group, the Fugees, which also boasted Wyclef Jean and rapper Pras Michel. The group’s second album, The Score, went multi-platinum, won a Grammy…
It’s got to be hard to be a Dodgers fan these days. All-Star center fielder Matt Kemp just came off the DL only to find himself injured again this week. Injuries continue to plague other players including Mark Ellis, Ted Lilly, and Juan Rivera. And the Dodgers have little money to buy their way out…
Earlier this month, a reader sent me an email with a link to a news clip from Channel 13 (WHTR in Indianapolis) with the title “13 Investigates: IRS tax loophole.” She wrote: “I was wondering if it was true…seems a little far-fetched to me.” I checked it out and dismissed it as much ado about…