A federal jury in Los Angeles on Monday convicted R N B singer Ronald
Isley of five counts of tax evasion and one count of willful failure to file a
tax return. Isley faces up to 26 years in prison. Jurors deliberated for a
day and a half before rendering their verdict in the trial, which stretched
over three weeks. The panel was apparently swayed by a steady stream of
prosecution evidence that included documents showing Ronald Isley hiding homes and a yacht under the name of his former wife and cashing royalty checks belonging to his late brother, O'Kelly Isley. During the trial, IRS officials said Isley tried to further avoid taxes by asking to be paid in only cash for performances between 1997 and 2002--amounts that added up to around $12 million.
The IRS also claimed Isley bought personal cars using a business account and
paid band members in cash to keep transactions off the books.