Dance Moms' Abby Lee Miller Tries to Avoid Jail Time in Bankruptcy Fraud Case

E! News obtained legal documents filed Tuesday

By McKenna Aiello Jan 18, 2017 9:31 PMTags
Abby Lee Miller David Livingston/Getty Images

Abby Lee Miller isn't ready to leave the dance floor just yet. 

Two days before the Dance Moms star will be sentenced in a multi-million dollar bankruptcy fraud case, her legal team made one last plea in hopes of their client avoiding time behind bars.

In a sentencing memorandum filed Tuesday and obtained by E! News, Miller's attorneys claim a probation sentence is sufficient enough. The reality television fixture faces up to five years in prison and a $5 million fine for the $755,000 in income she concealed in 2010. In June 2016, Miller plead guilty to concealing bankruptcy assets and not reporting an international money transaction. 

"Ms. Miller was overwhelmed and under-equipped, and this led to her failure to respect to the bankruptcy process," her legal representatives write in the court documents. "Her engagement of lawyers, accountants, and other professionals was haphazard, episodic, and at times, counter-productive."

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Guilty Gallery

Additionally, the documents state Miller has suffered a "very public humiliation" and has since surrounded herself with financial experts and legal counsel "to ensure that she will not recreate the circumstances that led to this sentencing."

The U.S. Attorney's office is fighting back, and in their own sentencing memo filed Jan. 17 and obtained by E! News, recommend Miller receive a "guideline sentence." As for why, they point to several emails sent from Miller to her accountant shortly after a 2013 hearing in which a judge demanded her to reimburse her creditors. 

"Oh god I miss u," Miller writes in one correspondence. "The judge was a dick! He hates me…I'm paying Everyone I owe 100% back in one big check! Who does that! Nobody in bankruptcy! But he won't just say look I hate you and I don't want to see u again pay everybody and go! Now my Pgh atty are making Collins ave and the entertainment attorney jump through hoops!"

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Abby Lee Miller Gives Update on Personal Life

The sentencing memo continues, "Miller committed multiple offenses for which she accepted responsibility in the context of the bankruptcy. She both schemed to defraud the court, conceal assets, and falsify bankruptcy schedules while under oath."

Over the summer, Abby Lee spoke exclusively to E! News about her ongoing legal troubles. 

"I'm good," she told us, adding, "It's been traumatic. It's been enlightening, and I've certainly learned a lot."

In terms of her future business endeavors, Miller explained, "I've just been too trusting out there, and I made mistakes along the way. You know, deal with the consequences."