These are lean times for Fat Joe.
The Miami-based rapper, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, pled guilty on Thursday to failing to pay taxes on $3 million in income earned between 2007 - 2008. Fat Joe entered the plea in federal court in Newark, the AP reports via Huffington Post, because some of the companies he earned money from are incorporated in New Jersey.
Federal prosecutors calculated the rapper owes $718,038. Fat Joe - leaner, and more vocal about his health in recent years - told the court "I super-understand" the charges.
His lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said he hoped to pay back the taxes by the time of his sentencing April 3. The AP reports that Fat Joe was released on $250,000 bail and could face up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $200,000, plus penalties from the IRS.
A hot album could help out with those fees. MTV.com reports the rapper, who last released a solo album, The Darkside Vol. 1, in 2010, has been working on his 11th album, and collaborating with artists including Chris Brown and Kanye West. He has been active on Twitter throughout December, tweeting pictures of himself working in the studio. After the Newtown, Conn. tragedy, Fat Joe, who has a six-year-old daughter, tweeted that the tragedy "really hits home."
