Rapper DMX pleaded guilty Thursday to tax fraud, admitting he hid millions of dollars in earnings in an effort to avoid paying $1.7 million U.S. in taxes.
The 46-year-old star, whose real name is Earl Simmons, now faces up to five years in prison. He is due to be sentenced on March 29.
DMX, currently in rehab to deal with drug and alcohol issues, was arrested last summer after a decade-long investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. It alleged that DMX insisted on being paid in cash as often as possible and had royalty payments diverted to the accounts of others.