PITTSBURGH (AP) – “Dance Moms” star Abby Lee Miller plans to accept responsibility for federal charges filed in Pittsburgh accusing her of failing to report Australian currency she brought into the country in 2014 and bankruptcy fraud charges, she said in a statement Tuesday.
Miller issued the statement after she was contacted by The Associated Press regarding a charge filed Monday by federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh. The charge accuses Miller of violating a law requiring people to report bringing more than $10,000 worth of foreign currency into the country in August 2014. The documents also seek to have her forfeit at least $120,000, though prosecutors wouldn’t say whether that’s the value of Australian currency she failed to report.
Miller was first charged last fall with illegally trying to hide $775,000 worth of income from the Lifetime network reality show and spinoff projects during her Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The emailed statement, relayed through her Pittsburgh-based defense attorney Robert Ridge, strongly suggests she’ll plead guilty though no such proceedings have been scheduled, according to online federal court records.
“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,” the statement said.