Ja Rule Released From Prison, Faces More Jail Time in Tax Case

Rapper served 20 months for illegal gun possession but now has to answer for $1.1 million in back taxes

By Alexis L. Loinaz Feb 21, 2013 8:20 PMTags
Ja RuleAP Photo/Seth Wenig

You win some, you lose some.

Rapper Ja Rule was released from a New York state prison Thursday after serving 20 months for criminal possession of a weapon—only to wind up directly in federal custody for tax evasion. 

Per published reports, the 36-year-old MC (real name: Jeffery Atkins) left Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy and was transported west to Oneida County Jail in New York, where he'll he remain in custody until authorities determine where he'll ultimately serve out his sentence for skipping out on $1.1 million in back taxes.

The rapper was popped in 2007 in New York City after police found a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun in his car following a routine traffic stop, and in June 2011, he was sentenced to two years in prison.

A month later, he was slapped with more jail time after pleading guilty to three counts of failing to file tax returns from 2004 to 2008.

In all, the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey ultimately determined that the rapper owed  $1.1 million in taxes stemming from royalties and tour profits.

Ja Rule's last album, PIL2, was released in February 2012, eight months after he was thrown in the clink. It peaked at No. 21 on Billboard's Rap Albums chart.