R&B great R. Kelly’s woes have spilled over from the police blotter and over to the IRS.
According to Cook County documents, R. Kelly — officially Robert Sylvester Kelly — owes almost $5 million in unpaid taxes, the Chicago Sun-Times has reported. The taxes have piled up for several years, with annual tax bills reaching above $1 million in 2005 and 2008, and almost hitting the million-dollar mark in 2010.
Kelly previously let his mansion in the Chicago suburb of Olympia Fields go into foreclosure, with JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) suing for $2.9 million. The Sun-Times reported the house was put on the market in December for more than $1 million less than that.
The vocal star also has faced several legal problems in the past. Most notably, he faced various charges — including numerous child pornography counts — around a video allegedly showing Kelly having sex with a minor, but later was found not guilty after a number of delays. He also has served a year’s probation in 1997 for his involvement in a brawl.
A representative for R. Kelly told gossip site TMZ, “R. Kelly is in the process of working everything out with the government and is confident that all his obligations will be satisfied.”
The multi-platinum artist’s tax troubles come about a week after it was revealed that Grammy winner Lauryn Hill owed around $2 million in federal taxes and could be facing jail time.
Kelly and Hill join a laundry list of other recent celebrity money troubles, including:
