You won’t be seeing Abby Lee Miller, the tough as nails instructor from Dance Moms, on TV for quite a while.
The reality star was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison followed by two years supervised release. In addition, Miller was ordered to fork over $160,000 in fines, as well as a DNA sample relating to her felony charge.
This all stems from October 2015 charges, where Miller was accused of attempting to hide $775,000 of income from her Lifetime series and its spin-off, Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, as well as multiple other projects while filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. These assets were allegedly stashed away in secret bank accounts between 2012–13. The Dance Moms star was also accused of divvying $120,000 into separate bags and having friends carry them in their luggage – a direct violation of a law stating those bringing more than $10,000 into the U.S. must report it.
Those close to Miller say financial woes have been haunting her for quite some time. Her reps confirmed to PEOPLE that the Abby Lee Dance Company in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania had been up for sale, as it was sitting on $400,000 worth of unpaid taxes.
During the trial, Miller took the stand and begged the judge for leniency, saying she had fallen victim to the sudden fame that came with the success of Dance Moms. “This has been a challenging time for Ms. Miller,” her reps told PEOPLE. “She appreciates the words of encouragement and support from around the world.”
Abby will reportedly serve her sentence in a federal facility near Los Angeles. As for Dance Moms, there is no official word on the upcoming season or who will be the face of the show in her place.
