Singer Ron Isley convicted of tax evasion
Isley Brothers R&B singer Ron Isley is singing the blues after being convicted Monday of multiple counts of tax evasion and learning of the 26 years he could face in prison.
A federal jury convicted the 64-year-old “Smooth Sailing” crooner of five counts of tax evasion and count of willful failure to file a tax return. Isley, whose alter ego is the fictional Mr. Big, will be sentenced Jan. 9.
During a three-week trial, prosecutors and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said Isley evaded the IRS by asking to be paid in cash for performances between 1997 and 2002. The cash payments drew him an income of $12 million.
Isley also put homes (one in Missouri) and a yacht in the names of his then-wife (R&B singer Angela Winbush) and corporations, and cashed royalty checks belonging to his deceased brother, O’Kelly Isley, according to the government.
