Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion on Friday, January 19, Us Weekly can confirm.
The 36-year-old reality star and his brother, Marc, created businesses to take advantage of his celebrity status, according to New Jersey’s District Attorney’s Office documents obtained by Us.
“Michael Sorrentino admitted that in tax year 2011, he earned taxable income, including some that was paid in cash, and that he concealed a portion of his income to evade paying the full amount of taxes he owed,” according to the document. “He also made cash deposits into bank accounts in amounts less than $10,000, in an effort to ensure that these deposits would not come to the attention of the IRS.”
U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton scheduled Sorrentino’s sentencing for April 25. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for tax evasion.
“Today, Michael Sorrentino has come to terms with mistakes he made at a very different and tumultuous time in his life,” his attorney said in a statement to Us on Friday, January 19. “He deeply regrets his failure to pay his taxes, and has spent the past several years turning his life into something positive.”
The reality star has been working on staying clean and surrounding himself with solid relationships.
The statement continued: “He has been sober for two years, counseled other young people facing life’s stresses, and has built a stable, loving relationship with his girlfriend Lauren Pesce, who stands by his side. The plea terms call for a balance between punishing the wrong committed and conditions that facilitate Mike living a productive, law-abiding life moving forward. Following through on this plea agreement, Michael intends to pay restitution before sentencing.”
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As previously reported, multiple sources confirmed to Us that this will not disrupt Sorrentino’s comeback to reality TV. He is set to reunite with his MTV castmates in Miami for Jersey Shore: Family Vacation! A judge granted Sorrentino to leave state and film the reboot while under probation.
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