DMX pleads guilty to tax evasion charge, may face prison time

Earl Simmons a.k.a. DMX pled guilty on Thursday to one count of tax evasion in a New York City federal courtroom.

Prosecutors claimed Simmons has $1.7 million in unpaid taxes from 2002-2005, stemming from a “multi-year scheme to conceal millions of dollars,” according to Joon H. Kim, the acting United States attorney for the Southern District of New York. Kim said that Simmons did not file personal tax returns, and successfully "concealed hundreds of thousands of dollars of income from the IRS" through cash payments and hiding royalty payments in accounts held by associates. Simmons's defence attorney Murray Richman said that the rapper's charges were a result of his inability to "properly supervise his own life."

Simmons will pay restiution to the I.R.S. as part of the plea deal, and may face a prison sentence of up to five years. According to TMZ, DMZ will report for sentencing on March 29, 2018. "My life is in God's hands," the rapper told reporters outside of the courthouse before declining to comment on the charges. Watch below:

The FADER has reached out to DMX's representatives for comment.