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Rapper DMX, born Earl Simmons, has been arrested in New York on federal tax fraud charges. Prosecutors say that Simmons owes $1.7 million in taxes and has engaged in a multi-years scheme to conceal millions of dollars of income from the Internal Revenue Service.
According to prosecutors, Simmons earned millions from his music, including the 2003 hit “X Gon’ Give it to Ya,” and avoided paying taxes by establishing fake accounts in other’s names and paying personal expenses largely in cash.
The 46-year-old Yonkers native was arrested on Thursday. He is now set to appear in Manhattan federal court on Friday. A telephone call to his previous lawyer’s office from USA Today was not returned.
This isn’t the first time Simmons has run into trouble with the law. The hip hop artist spent more than two months in a New York jail in 2015 for failing to pay child support. He also has previous arrests on his record for other charges.
DMX
Earl Simmons (born December 18, 1970), professionally known as DMX, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. In 1999, DMX released his best-selling album …And Then There Was X, which included the hit single “Party Up (Up in Here)”. He has been featured in films such as Belly, Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 the Grave and Last Hour. In 2006, he starred in the reality television series DMX: Soul of a Man, which was primarily aired on the BET cable television network. In 2003, DMX published a book of his memoirs entitled, E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX.
