The rapper Fat Joe was sentenced to four months in prison on Monday in federal court in Newark for failing to pay his taxes, the United States Attorney’s office for New Jersey said.
Fat Joe, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, pleaded guilty in December to failing to pay taxes on more than $1 million of income he earned between 2007 and 2010.
Mr. Cartagena, 42, of the South Bronx, came from the bruising New York City hip-hop scene in the early-’90s and developed a reputation as a workmanlike rapper with heart, breaking out with the song “Flow Joe” in 1993. His hits include “Lean Back,” which topped the Billboard singles chart 2004, and “What’s Luv,” which reached No. 2 on the chart in 2001.
Federal prosecutors said he failed to pay about $700,000 in taxes on earnings of $3.3 million between 2007 and 2010. Though he lives in Miami Beach, Mr. Cartagena was prosecuted in New Jersey because he owns corporations based in Somerville from which he received income, including Terror Squad Productions Inc. and Miramar Music Touring Inc.
Federal authorities in New Jersey have been going after musicians on tax evasion charges in recent months. Lauryn Hill was sentenced to three months in prison in early May for failing to pay taxes on about $1.8 million. Two weeks later, the Internal Revenue Service placed a lien on property belonging to Mary J. Blige and her husband, charging they owed $3.4 million in back taxes.
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