'Dance Moms' Star To 'Accept Responsibility' For Fed Charges
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Abby Lee Miller, the woman who became a known worldwide for reality TV show "Dance Moms," may be going to prison.
From her dance studio in Penn Hills, Miller built a reality show empire around teaching young girls to dance.
It wasn't so much the dancing that made "Dance Moms" the tune-in event it has become; instead, it's the antics of the moms and the dance teacher. It was often confrontational and caustic.
But as Miller's fame grew, so did money problems, which became an undercurrent for Miller until she eventually filed for bankruptcy.
Then, last fall, she was indicted for hiding money from the bankruptcy proceedings to the tune of $775,000 in proceeds from Lifetime Network for the show and its spinoff projects.
Since those charges came down, there have been repeated delays in the proceedings as Miller continued her franchise on the West Coast. Finally, the judge had had enough and ordered a hearing for next week for pretrial motions, saying, "No further extensions of time will be granted."
Then, on Monday, the U.S. Attorney's office filed another charge against the dance teacher.
This newest charge accuses Miller of bringing $10,000 in foreign currency into the United States from Australia. The charge says Miller knew the money had to be reported, and evaded filing the report.
Today, at Miller's request, a change of plea hearing was set for next Monday in Federal Court here in Pittsburgh.
While her attorneys won't confirm that she will change her plea to guilty, they did issue this statement from Abby Lee Miller:
"Events over the past several months have been extremely challenging for me, my family, my friends and most important, my students. Because of this I made the very difficult decision to close the door on this chapter of my life by accepting responsibility for mistakes I have made along the way. I appreciate all the wonderful messages of support I've received from around the world and look forward to the future and getting back to my life's work: helping young dancers fulfill their potential." --Abigale Lee Miller
The U.S. Attorney's Office won't comment on the case, but if Miller pleads guilty, and there is no plea agreement, she could face multiple years in prison and fines into six figures.
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