Dance Moms reality TV celebrity Abby Lee Miller has been sentenced to one year plus one day in prison, fined $40,000, and ordered to forfeit $120,000 as punishment for her admitted federal bankruptcy fraud. A federal judge in Pittsburgh also ordered Miller to pay a $40,000 fine and spend two years on probation following her release.
Prosecutors said Miller had attempted to conceal nearly $750,000 in revenue from bankruptcy creditors and sneak the $120,000 in Australian revenue into the country in the luggage of adult and child travel companions.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Melucci told the judge that Miller was getting bankruptcy court help “with one hand and stealing with the other,” to satisfy, “enormous greed and extreme arrogance.” He said she had gone from “Dance Mom” to “Dance Con.” Miller told Judge Joy Flowers Conti that she’s ashamed, sorry, and accepts responsibility for her actions.
Miller must report to federal authorities to begin serving her sentence in 45 days. The judge said she’d recommend to the federal prison system that Miller be allowed to serve her time at a federal facility near Los Angles, where Miller currently has her business. Her dance studio in Penn Hills, which is now closed, was started by her parents. The judge said that with 10 months of good behavior, Miller may be eligible to enter a halfway house to serve the balance of her federal sentence.
