Fat Joe sentenced to four months in prison for tax evasion

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Looks as though another hip-hop superstar is facing prison time for tax evasion.

Fat Joe, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, was sentenced to four months in prison on Monday after a federal court in Newark passed judgment on the rapper for failing to pay his taxes.

The rapper pled guilty in December for failing to pay taxes on more than $1 million of income earned between 2007 and 2010.

Further details via The New York Times:

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.

Fat Joe now joins Lauryn Hill as the latest music superstar to get collared for tax evasion. Hill was sentence to three months in prison in early May for failing to pay taxes on roughly $1.8 million in income. Two weeks later, the IRS placed a lien on property belonging to Mary J. Blige and her husband, due to the couple owing $3.4 million in back taxes.