A judge has sentenced Lauryn Hill to three months in prison and an additional three months of home confinement for failing to pay taxes on about $1 million in earnings, the Associated Press reports.
Hill, a 37-year-old South Orange resident, pleaded guilty last year in the case.
During a forceful statement to the judge Monday, Hill explained she had always meant to eventually pay the taxes but was unable to during a period of time when she dropped out of the music business, echoing a defense she wrote last year in a long post online.
"I needed to be able to earn so I could pay my taxes, without compromising the health and welfare of my children, and I was being denied that," Hill said Monday, without explaining what exactly triggered her actions.
Before the sentencing, her attorney had said Hill had paid more than $970,000 to satisfy the state and federal tax liabilities.
Hill had faced a maximum sentence of one year each on three counts. Her attorney had sought probation.Â
Read more at NBC New York.