Ja Rule gets more than 2 yrs in jail on tax charge

NEW YORK,  (Reuters Life!) – Jailed rapper Ja Rule  was sentenced in federal court in New Jersey today to 28  months in prison for failing to pay more than $1 million in  taxes.
The 35 year-old hip-hop singer and actor, whose real name  is Jeffrey Atkins, is already serving a two-year jail sentence  on a weapons conviction in New York. The two terms will run  concurrently, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New  Jersey.
Ja Rule previously pleaded guilty in March to three counts  of failing to file tax returns. According to prosecutors,  Atkins did not pay taxes from 2004 to 2008, costing the U.S.  government more than $1.1 million.
“Taxpayers do not have the luxury of deciding whether to  comply with laws,” U.S. Judge Patty Shwartz said today in  delivering the sentence.
Ja Rule pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of  a weapon last year and began his New York prison sentence in  June. The charge stemmed from a July 2007 incident, when police  pulled over the singer’s car after a concert and discovered a  semi-automatic handgun hidden away, according to authorities.
Fellow rapper Lil Wayne also was arrested after the same  concert at New York’s Beacon Theater when police found him  smoking marijuana near a tour bus.
Ja Rule received a Grammy nomination in 2002 for the album  “Pain is Love.” He is expected to release “Pain is Love 2”  later this summer.