Abby Lee Miller of Dance Moms is in hot water again.
The 49-year-old reality star, whose charges for assault were dropped in July, is facing an indictment from a federal grand jury on charges of bankruptcy fraud, according to Deadline Hollywood.
The indictment alleges that Miller hid hundreds of thousands of dollars from bankruptcy court. According to documents, Abby Lee Miller lied about income amounting to $755,492.85 she received from her Lifetime reality show, dance studio and merchandise from 2012-2013 in order to restructure her debt more favorably.
"Dance Moms" Abbie Lee Miller faces prison for allegedly hiding assets during bankruptcy http://t.co/d0kYapnJUK pic.twitter.com/u36uKXk8m8
— KTLA (@KTLA) October 15, 2015
Each count against Miller carries a possible five years in federal prison, along with a $250,000 fine.
“Criminal prosecution is appropriate when debtors corrupt the bankruptcy process through deceit and lies before the court,” said U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton in a statement obtained by Entertainment Tonight.
Akeia Conner, an Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge, reiterated what Hickton said in his statement.
“Fraud and dishonesty in bankruptcy proceedings undermines the integrity of these important proceedings and especially hurts the creditors and American taxpayers,” said Akeia.
“The investigation of Abigale Lee Miller demonstrates our commitment to identify and prosecute those who commit bankruptcy fraud,” said David McGinnis of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Pittsburgh Division about the charges.
ICYMI: #DanceMoms' Abby Lee Miller allegedly hid thousands of dollars from bankruptcy court http://t.co/ScCShggcYM pic.twitter.com/66ZOsR7AOQ
— People magazine (@people) October 15, 2015
In July, Miller was sued by Paige Hyland, who alleged that Abby Lee hurled a chair at her. Los Angeles Superior Court judge Ruth Ann Kwan ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prove the claims made by Hyland and the lawsuit was dropped. The suit, filed in 2014, claimed that Miller was “paid to be abusive and bullying to her students. It also claimed that she “insulted and abused Paige on an almost daily basis, including cruel name calling, insults about Paige’s physical appearance and making offensive false and defamatory accusation [sic.] about Paige’s family.”
It’s unclear whether she will return to the Lifetime series. In June, Miller told ET that she wasn’t sure if she’d return.
“Lifetime is a little in arrears on their payment plan with me personally, and so I think that will have to be taken care of first before we talk about season six,” she said. “It’s the kids that watch our show. So I wish that the network would realize that, and the production company would back off the moms and the swearing and the fighting and all that, and let’s concentrate on the dancing.”
What do you think of these latest legal woes for Abby Lee Miller?