Ja Rule sentenced to 2 years for failing to file income tax returns

(CBS/WCBS/AP) NEWARK, N.J. -- Rapper and actor Ja Rule was sentenced Monday to more than two years in federal prison for failing to file income tax returns.

"I in no way attempted to deceive the government or do anything illegal. I was a young man who made a lot of money," he said minutes before being sentenced. "I didn't know how to deal with these finances, and I didn't have people to guide me, so I made mistakes."

The platinum-selling rapper, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, admitted in March that he failed to pay taxes on more than $3 million that he earned between 2004 and 2006 while living in Saddle River.

He has also been ordered to pay $1.1 million in unpaid taxes.

Ja Rule was sentenced in New York City last month to up to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty to attempted criminal weapon possession. The case stemmed from a gun found in his luxury sports car in July 2007, reports CBS affiliate WCBS.

Depending on his release date for his New York sentence - he could serve as little as 18 months in that case by meeting good behavior requirements and other standards - he could serve from four to 12 months of the federal sentence. The federal time will be served at the Oneida Correctional Facility in upstate New York, where he is serving the state sentence.

Ja Rule, 35, was nominated for a 2002 best rap album Grammy Award for "Pain is Love." His movie credits include 2001's "The Fast and the Furious" and 2003's "Scary Movie 3."