‘Dance Moms’ Star Abby Lee Miller Heads To Court, Enters Not Guilty Plea In Fraud Case
Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller has entered a plea in her court case regarding allegations of fraud. Though the dance instructor and reality TV star could be facing five years in jail and $5 million in fines, she and her legal team are entering a plea of not guilty and asking for a jury trial. What’s the latest on this story?
As Deadline details, Abby Lee Miller was indicted recently on 20 counts of fraud. The case is related to her prior bankruptcy filing, and the charges allege that she concealed assets, made false declarations, and committed fraud related to that filing. Miller was in court in Pittsburgh on Monday and paid her bond. She can continue to travel within the United States, but she needs court approval to travel internationally.
WTAE shares that Miller is accused of hiding $775,000 in income from the court during her Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It seems that the judge in the bankruptcy case saw Miller on television with the show and wondered why the income from the show had not been declared in the bankruptcy playing out around the same time.
Cameras caught Miller with her legal team as they entered the courthouse on Monday, and when asked for comment, Abby replied in a fairly typical style. The Dance Moms star noted that she hadn’t had her hair done for the appearance, and she slipped in a pitch for fans to go to the show’s website beginning Wednesday to buy Season 6 jackets. As fans of the show know, Abby and the girls are filming Season 6 right now, and it is anticipated that new episodes will begin again in January.
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Should Miller be convicted of the charges against her, she reportedly faces five years in jail plus $250,000 in fines for each of the 20 counts. Of course, nobody expects things to progress that far. However, this is definitely a serious case, and the Dance Moms star could very well be in deep trouble.
Some might see some similarities in Miller’s case with what Joe and Teresa Giudice of The Real Housewives of New Jersey faced in their own court case. As People reported at the time of the sentences for Joe and Teresa, they misrepresented their assets during a bankruptcy. Teresa is expected to be released from prison soon, but then Joe is slated to begin his sentence.
Will Abby Lee Miller avoid the kind of outcome that the RHONJ couple received? This case is in the very early stages at this point and Dance Moms fans will have to stay tuned to see what comes next. Deadline indicates that Miller’s court date was slated for November 2, after originally being scheduled for November 5, so as to work around show filming.
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This is just the latest in many court-related incidents for Abby. The Dance Moms star had been tied up in several cases over the past couple of years related to the drama that played out with former show participants Kelly Hyland and her daughters, Brooke and Paige. Those cases have all just recently been wrapped up, mostly in Miller’s favor.
What comes next for Abby Lee Miller on this fraud case? It seems that Abby’s lawyers have asked for an extension regarding when they need to file any pretrial motions. If that request is granted, the Dance Moms star will have until December 17 before those are handled.
Will the Dance Moms star really end up in jail over these fraud allegations? Fans aren’t sure what to think about this situation, and everybody will be quite curious to see what comes next for Abby Lee Miller in this case.
[Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]
