Rapper Mystikal gets one year for tax evasion

updated 2:32 p.m. ET Jan. 16, 2006

BATON ROUGE, La. - Grammy-nominated rapper Mystikal has been sentenced to a year in prison for trying to cheat the federal government out of $271,000 in taxes.

U.S. District Judge James Brady said Thursday that he would allow Mystikal, whose real name is Michael L. Tyler, to serve the sentence at the same time he serves a state sentence for sexual battery against his former hairstylist.

Tyler is serving a six-year sentence for the videotaped attack on the woman. He pleaded guilty in June 2003 to forcing her to perform oral sex after accusing her of stealing $80,000 worth of his checks.

In the tax case, Tyler pleaded guilty in August to two misdemeanor counts of failing to file tax returns on $824,916 he earned in 1998 and $930,953 in 1999. The judge ordered him to pay back taxes and penalties in addition to the one-year sentence.

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