Rap icon DMX just added to his rap sheet.
The hip-hop chart-topper, aka Earl Simmons, surrendered to authorities in New York Thursday on charges that he is a long-time tax cheat.
“Celebrity rapper or not, all Americans must pay their taxes, and together with our partners at the IRS, we will pursue those who deliberately and criminally evade this basic obligation,” acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said in a Department of Justice press release.
An indictment summarized in the release accuses the 46-year-old “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” singer of racking up an unpaid $1.7 million tax bill on income earned from recordings and performances in the early 2000s. In addition, Simmons allegedly failed to file tax returns from 2010 to 2015 despite making more than $2.3 million.
He attempted to circumvent his obligations by “maintaining a cash lifestyle” and using the bank accounts of associates to pay expenses, according to the release.
DMX also tried to conceal income from a reality show as well, prosecutors claim. He allegedly demanded that producers of “Celebrity Couples Therapy” reissue him a $125,000 check without withholding taxes or he would quit the show.
A lawyer for DMX told Reuters that the rapper will plead innocent to the charges, according to the wire service’s video above.
The rapper, whose first five albums debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, has a dubious track record outside of show business. He’s been arrested for drug possession, DUI, theft, animal cruelty, assault, child support avoidance, weapon possession and more, Billboard reported. In February 2016, he had to be revived by police and medics in a hotel parking lot after an alleged drug overdose.
The Huffington Post reached out to a rep for DMX.