Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino arrived to federal court in Newark on Friday to plead guilty to cheating on his taxes.
The Jersey Shore star and his brother/manager Marc were charged in 2014 and again last year with multiple counts related to nearly $9 million in income from the show.
The reality star turned up in a dark charcoal suit and shades, hand in hand with girlfriend Lauren Pesce, who dressed head-to-toe in black.
Day in court: Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino arrived to court with girlfriend Lauren Pesce to plead guilty to tax evasion on Friday
Mike and his brother had pleaded not guilty, but wrote a letter to the judge this week stating they wanted to change their pleas.
Their trial was scheduled to begin next month.
The brothers initially were charged with filing bogus tax returns on income earned between 2010 and 2012, mostly through two companies they controlled, MPS Entertainment and Situation Nation.
They allegedly filed false documents that understated the income from the businesses as well as their personal income.
Scrubbed up: The reality star turned up in a dark charcoal suit and shades, hand in hand with Lauren, who dressed head-to-toe in black
Trouble: The Jersey Shore star and his brother/manager Marc were charged in 2014 and again last year with multiple counts related to nearly $9 million in income from the show
Change of heart: Mike and his brother had pleaded not guilty, but wrote a letter to the judge this week stating they wanted to change their pleas
Michael Sorrentino also was charged with failing to file taxes for 2011, a year in which he earned nearly $2 million.
Both brothers were charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, which is punishable by a maximum potential prison sentence of five years upon conviction.
Both also faced counts of filing false returns, each of which carries a maximum three-year sentence.
Charges: The brothers initially were charged with filing bogus tax returns on income earned between 2010 and 2012, mostly through two companies they controlled, MPS Entertainment and Situation Nation
Illegal: They allegedly filed false documents that understated the income from the businesses as well as their personal income
Possible jailtime: Both brothers were charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, which is punishable by a maximum potential prison sentence of five years upon conviction
The U.S. attorney’s office filed additional charges last April, including tax evasion, structuring bank deposits to avoid reporting requirements and falsifying records.
Michael Sorrentino’s attorney declined to say which charges his client would plead guilty to.
‘The Situation’ appeared on all six seasons of the MTV reality show, which followed the lives of rowdy housemates in a New Jersey beach town.
Show must go on: Meanwhile in Miami, Mike’s castmates have been busy filming an upcoming reboot series, with Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi, Jenni ‘JWoww’ Farley and Deena Nicole Cortese (pictured Friday) all spotted getting to work on Jersey Shore: Family Reunion
They were known for their drunken antics and the phrase they used to describe their lifestyle: ‘gym, tan, laundry.’
Former Republican Gov. Chris Christie criticized the show for promoting stereotypes, and last year signed a bill capping the amount of state money universities can pay for speakers, after Rutgers University paid cast member Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi $32,000 in 2011.
Meanwhile in Miami, Mike’s castmates have been busy filming an upcoming reboot series, with Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi, Jenni ‘JWoww’ Farley, Deena Nicole Cortese and Vinny Guadagnino all spotted getting to work on Jersey Shore: Family Reunion.
Back in the day: The Situation, Sammi ‘Sweetheart’ Giancola, Snooki, Vinny Guadagnino, Paul ‘Pauly D’ DelVecchio and JWoww in 2010