Former Murder Inc. star and platinum recording artist, Ja Rule left a New York state prison Thursday after serving the majority of his two-year sentence for illegal gun possession, but he went straight into federal custody in a tax evasion case. As U.S. Marshals escorted the 36-year-old rapper out of Mid-State Correctional Facility, they didn’t release the info as to where Ja-Rule would serve his time for tax-evasion.
Ja-Rule, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins has some time remaining on a 28-month sentence for tax evasion that ran concurrently. His lawyer said he may have less than six months left and may be eligible for a halfway house. With an order to pay $1.1 million in back taxes, it was reported that Ja-Rule is definitely looking forward to getting back to work.A state corrections spokeswoman by the name of Linda Foglia said, Ja Rule, who went to the prison in June 2011, got out at his earliest release date.
She also reported that he only had two misbehavior reports for unauthorized phone calls in February 2012 and had work assignments on lawn and grounds crews and participated in various education programs during his stay. In the gun case, New York City police said they found a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun in a rear door of Ja Rule’s $250,000 luxury car after it was stopped for speeding, and he pleaded guilty in 2010. He admitted in March 2011 in federal court that he failed to pay taxes on more than $3 million he earned between 2004 and 2006 while he lived in New Jersey.”I in no way attempted to deceive the government or do anything illegal,” he told the judge. “I was a young man who made a lot of money ” I’m getting a little choked up ” I didn’t know how to deal with these finances, and I didn’t have people to guide me, so I made mistakes.”We hope Ja-Rule can get back on his feet after he serves the rest of his time and we wish him well.