Clearly, getting fired from "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta" was not the worst thing to ever happen to Benzino.
But this might be- the hip-hop mogul turned reality star turned guy-who-used-to-be-a-reality-star apparently owes the goverment a hefty amount of unpaid taxes.
The Jasmine Brand has the exclusive on this one- and the official financials for Benzino, including ten years' worth of unpaid tax dollars.
The stats look like this: "1997 ($178,397.30), 1998 ($760,867.19) 1999 ($691,828.28), 2000 ($1,3339,844.11), 2001 ($634,281.39) , 2002 ($143,7688), 2003 ($19,969.91), 2004 ($12,975.36), 2005 ($87,366.32) & 2008 ($18,470.64)."
Here's what that looks like in total- Benzino is in the hole for a gargantuan $5,181,788.50!!
He could really use another reality show right now. Or ten. Or a bag of money that conveniently falls out of the sky.
Fashion & Style, however, adds that this isn't the first time Benzino has come under the gun for not paying his taxes, and that the last time, he was able to escape without injury- in 1999 and 2000 he scrounged up a "not guilty" verdict for a debt of $1.5 million.
Maybe Benzino can pull another miracle and skip out on this one. Or maybe, as reported by Reality Tea, Benzino and his wife, Althea, could start mooching off of Tamar Braxton and Vince Herbert's success. Because Reality Tea claims the two have been spotted trying to sneak their way onto "Tamar & Vince."
He's gonna need something, because five million dollars is an enormous amount of money to owe anyone- especially the government, who easily has the means to come after Benzino until they've gotten their five million bucks back.
One way or another, it's probably in Benzino's best interest to pay back that five mil before Uncle Sam comes by to hold him upside down and keep shaking until enough coins have fallen out of his pockets.
Check back soon for the latest news on Benzino, his staggering unpaid taxes, and "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta."
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