Abby Lee Miller, the former star of “Dance Moms,” will be spending the next year in prison after being convicted on fraud charges, TMZ has reported.
Miller was initially indicted on 20 counts of fraud after she was reportedly accused of hiding a whopping $755,000 in earnings from the U.S. government.
According to reports, Miller also brought $120,000 worth of Australian currency into the country without reporting it.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Melucci told the court that Miller went from being a «dance mom in the bankruptcy case to dance con.»
Chief Judge Joy Flowers Conti explained in court on Tuesday that after Miller spends one year and one day behind bars, she will still have an additional two years of supervised release.
“You weren’t truthful, even when you knew you were supposed to tell everything, you still weren’t truthful,” Conti told the former Lifetime star.
“Somehow you got caught up in the world of fame and you lost your moral compass,” she added.
On top of the prison time, Miller will also have to pay a $40,000 fine.
Although Miller’s defense attorneys originally argued that she should be sentenced to probation, since her creditors were made whole after the fraud was discovered, prosecutors did not agree.
«All I can tell you is we are very grateful for your interest in this case, and we respect Judge Conti’s opinion, and we aren’t going to have any additional comment,» Miller’s attorney told reporters outside the courthouse after she was sentenced to prison time.
In court, Miller tearfully told the judge that she accepts responsibility for her actions.
«I’m certainly ashamed to be meeting you for the first time in this manner,» she told Conti. «I wish you could take my class or come to one of my events and see how much I love this.»
She also refused to tell reporters outside the courtroom what happened inside.
«I have an interview to do,» she said. «I feel relieved. I feel peaceful.»
Known for being brash and straightforward on “Dance Moms,” Miller shocked her fans in March when she announced that she was leaving the show.
She reportedly told fans in a fiery Instagram post that the Lifetime producers had failed to give her the credit she was due for her own creative ideas throughout the reality series, which premiered in 2011.
At the time, Miller said she had been «manipulated and disrespected” by men who «treat women like dirt.»
