Former "Dance Moms" host Abby Lee Miller surrendered herself to a federal prison in California last Wednesday to begin serving her sentence for bankruptcy fraud.
The reality star checked into the Federal Correctional Institution, Victorville (FCI Victorville), about two-hour drive away from Los Angeles, more than a year after pleading guilty at a federal court in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In May, Miller was sentenced to a 366-day imprisonment for bankruptcy fraud and for bringing $120,000 worth of Australian currency into the country without reporting it.
Aside from incarceration, the court also ordered Miller to pay a fine of $40,000 and spend two years under probation after her release. Miller was charged with bankruptcy fraud in 2015 for creating a secret bank account to hide $775,000 worth of income from her reality show and its spinoffs. In 2016, Miller reached a deal with the IRS criminal investigators to enter a guilty plea.
The former reality TV show host sees the prison stint as a way to get some necessary "me" time. "I'll just have me to concentrate on and that's different," she told Entertainment Tonight, adding, "I've always put everybody else's child first before my own health, before my own outfit, before my own time frame. Everybody else was dressed and out the door and looking perfect and I was running around trying to find a clean towel to take a shower with, so I think this will be a little 'me' time."
Miller began to encounter a number of legal problems in 2014 when she was sued for charging assault by one of the dancers in her show, while another filed an emotional distress lawsuit against her.
Miller started appearing in the Lifetime network reality show "Dance Moms," which follows the practice sessions and performance competitions of young students of the Abby Lee Dance Company. The show aired for seven seasons between 2011 and 2017.
In March 2017, Miller announce via an Instagram post that she was quitting the show.
