"Dance Moms" Star's Indictment Making National Headlines
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – When news of the indictment of reality TV star Abby Lee Miller broke Wednesday morning, national publications from "US Weekly" and "USA Today" ran with the headline.
Miller's rise to fame began with the reality show "Dance Moms" on Lifetime, giving a behind-the-scenes look at the young dancers in her Penn Hills studio.
She entered into bankruptcy five years ago, in an effort to save her dance studio.
But a federal grand jury alleges that as her fame, and income, continued to grow, Miller hid her earnings.
"We alleged in the indictment that there was a scheme to defraud," said US Attorney David Hickton, "that there was income received in between the filing of the bankruptcy and the discharge, that there was deposits that were not put into bank accounts, that there were sub-chapteresque corporations formed in the state of Florida that were not disclosed."
According to Reuters, investigators found emails between Miller, another partner and her accountant with the subject line "Let's make money and keep me out of jail!"
Some former stars of "Dance Moms" have seemingly thrown some shade on Twitter.
Hours after the news broke, former student Brooke Hyland tweeted "karma."
And Miller's on-screen nemesis, Cathy Nesbitt-Stein, who owns the Candy Apple dance center in Canton, Ohio posted "Is orange the new black? I hear stripes are big this season."
Miller's attorney, Robert Ridge, told People Magazine that Miller has not yet entered a plea.
Meantime, the US attorney in Pittsburgh confirms Miller's first court appearance is scheduled for the morning of Nov. 5.
A&E, which owns Lifetime, has yet to comment. But "Dance Moms," which now films at Miller's new studio in Los Angeles, is scheduled to return for a new season in 2016.
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