‘Jersey Shore’s The Situation Faces 15 Years Behind Bars For Tax Evasion
Federal prosecutors just ensured that the situation went from bad to worse for Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino today. Already facing big tax problems and 2014 fraud charges from the government, the former Jersey Shore star and his brother were slapped Friday with a new superseding indictment alleging more tax evasion, financial structuring and falsifying records. Added up, the claims could see The Situation doing his once much valued laundry for behind bars for 15 years or more.
Mike and Marc Sorrentino will be arraigned on the new indictment April 17 in front of U.S. District Court Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark. NJ.
The former reality star and his sibling “conspired to defraud the United States by not paying all federal income tax owed on approximately $8.9 million that Michael earned between 2010 and 2012,” claims today’s indictment (read it here). “The object of the conspiracy was to impede, impair, obstruct, and defeat the lawful functions of the IRS, a constituent agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, in the ascertainment, computation, assessment, and collection of income taxes,” added the ledger book-like filing in federal court today from Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick.
“If convicted, the Sorrentino brothers face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison on the conspiracy count and three years in prison for each count of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns,” the U.S. Attorney’s office for the district of New Jersey announced this afternoon. “Michael faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each structuring count and five years in prison for the tax evasion count,” the feds added. “Marc faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for obstruction. They also face a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.”
Airing from 2009 to 2012 for six seasons on MTV, Jersey Shore was a huge hit for the network for most of its run. However, by the end and after a couple of spinoffs, the show was a much diminished version of itself, pulling in just 3.1 million for its December 20, 2012 finale – a “a third of the audiences the reality series commanded in its heyday,” as my colleague Nellie Andreeva wrote at the time.
Attorney Henry E. Klingeman of Newark represents The Situation in the case.
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