Defrauding the elderly, recruiting people to weird sex cults, and a little murder; celebrities
don't always have to serve time for their crimes, but here are a few who are now spending
their time in prison.
Musician C-Murder was sentenced to life in prison for killing a teenager during a scuffle
in 2002.
According to The Associated Press, C-Murder, aka Corey Miller, got into a fight with a
16-year-old fan named Steve Thomas outside a club in Harvey, Louisiana.
MTV News reports that a jury ruled that Miller shot Thomas as he laid on his back, while
being beaten by the rapper's friends.
Following a civil case in 2013, C-Murder was also ordered to pay the victim's family more
than $1.1 million.
C-Murder has consistently proclaimed his innocence.
In January 2018, his publicist, Tammy "Ty" Page, told AllHipHop that they knew of a prisoner
in another jail who confessed to Thomas' murder on tape and even signed an affidavit attesting
to it.
Page also told the site that C-Murder was engaged in a hunger strike to bring awareness
to his claim that he and other prisoners were being denied proper healthcare.
According to Louisiana Weekly, C-Murder's defense team has sought a new trial based
on recanted testimony from two witnesses who identified him as the shooter in his original
trial.
He was denied the retrial in 2019.
Oscar Pistorius became one of the world's most renowned athletes when he sprinted in
the 2012 Summer Olympics in London as a double amputee, but he made headlines of another
sort the following year.
In the early hours of February 14th, 2013, he reportedly fired four shots into a closed
bathroom door, killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius said he thought an intruder was in his home; the prosecution claimed he killed
Steenkamp after an argument.
CNN reported that Pistorius was convicted of manslaughter in 2014 and sentenced to five
years in prison.
He served one year and was then put on a lenient house arrest.
"Part of his conditions of holding here is that he will be able to leave this home to
go to church and to work, and his work is track and field."
Later, his conviction was overturned and upgraded to murder by a higher court in 2015.
In November 2017, his sentence was increased to 13 years and five months by The Supreme
Court of Appeal.
In March 2018, Pistorius ran out of appeals.
In July 2019, Texas rapper Taymor Travon McIntyre, aka Tay-K 47, was found guilty for his involvement
in the botched robbery and resulting murder of 21-year-old Ethan Walker.
According to The Star-Telegram, McIntyre was originally accused of the crime in 2016 at
age 16, and after being certified to stand trial as an adult, he was granted a bond and
placed on house arrest.
A couple of months later, he cut off his ankle monitor and fled.
While evading custody, McIntyre recorded a track called "The Race", which was released
on the same day he was arrested.
The track went viral and eventually ended up charting on Billboard's Hot 100.
During his life on the lam, McIntyre also allegedly participated in two additional violent
robberies, one of which resulted in the murder of Mark Anthony Saldivar.
McIntyre was brought to court for another bond hearing in March 2018, during which District
Judge Wayne Salvant denied the request for bond and admonished him for incriminating
scenes in "The Race" video.
"We're seeing news about this all, seeing praise about this all…"
"...and seeing you literally dancing on Ethan's grave."
McIntyre was later sentenced to 55 years in prison.
In November 2019, he was indicted for the April 2017 murder of Saldivar.
"Hi guys.
I know a lot of you probably have some harsh and negative opinions towards me right now.
And I understand why you do."
If you're not familiar with the world of YouTube, you may not know Austin Jones, who racked
up more than half a million subscribers by doing a cappella covers of popular songs on
the channel he launched in 2007.
Since then, Jones has become one of the most controversial figures on the platform, and
his behavior ultimately landed him a decade-long prison sentence.
In 2015, Jones was accused of soliciting twerking videos from minors, according to the now-defunct
music blog PupFresh.
These allegations eventually got him booted from his scheduled run on the Vans Warped
Tour after over 9,000 people signed a petition calling for his removal.
At the time, Jones did admit to soliciting twerking videos, but it wasn't until two years
later that the star was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on the felony
of two counts of producing child pornography after a search warrant was issued at his home,
according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
After Jones pleaded guilty in February 2019, and his YouTube account was swiftly removed,
he received a 10-year sentence, which he began in June of that year.
In 2007, Furious Five member Kidd Creole, real name Nathaniel Glover Jr., was one of
the first rappers ever inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, but that was long after
the group disbanded in 1983.
According to People, the star reportedly worked as a security guard in New York to get by
and in 2017, was charged with second-degree murder charges.
Glover had allegedly stabbed a homeless man named John Jolly twice after he thought the
man was either making a pass at him or planning to rob him.
Glover reportedly fled the scene and Jolly later died from his injuries.
Glover entered a plea of not guilty in August 2017.
The following month, the New York Post reported that Glover's attorneys planned to, quote,
"present psychiatric evidence of mental disease or defect" as part of the former rapper's
defense.
The judge wasn't swayed, and on April 6th, 2022, Glover was found guilty of first degree
manslaughter.
He received a sentence of 16 years in prison.
Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly faced multiple federal and state charges across several trials:
including 10 counts of aggravated criminal abuse and child pornography charges, spanning
across Illinois, New York, and Minnesota.
Federal prosecutors have accused the star of everything from bribing a government official
to marrying a 15-year-old Aaliyah to racketeering.
"Are you blaming this on social media?"
"I'm talking about the power of social media."
Kelly, who has maintained his innocence, was denied bail in 2019, according to BBC News.
Variety reports that the singer was initially held in a "Special Housing Unit" for at-risk
prisoners, which his attorney argued was "cruel and unusual punishment," though he reportedly
was not in solitary confinement and could access indoor recreation.
Per the Chicago Tribune, prosecutors claimed Kelly was the one who refused to go into the
general population.
Kelly's first criminal trial finished in September 2021, where he was found guilty on nine counts
of sex trafficking and racketeering in New York.
In 2022, he was convicted in Chicago federal court for child pornography and enticing a
minor.
His consecutive sentences mean that the singer will be in prison for 31 years altogether.
"Physically, War Machine, he could be a problem for anyone.
But I'll tell ya, mentally… he's definitely got some issues."
Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver, the ex-MMA fighter who legally changed his name to War Machine,
was sentenced to 36 years to life for the brutal 2014 assault of his ex-girlfriend,
adult entertainer Christy Mack, and her male friend, Corey Thomas.
According to CBS Sports, the former fighter avoided conviction on attempted murder charges,
but was found guilty of 29 charges for kidnapping, battery and sexual assault.
Mack was left with a punctured lung and several broken bones after suffering nearly a year
of abuse.
At his June 2017 sentencing, Koppenhaver expressed remorse for his crimes and claimed to have
found God while in prison, saying,
"Not a day goes by that I don't seriously regret all those things that I did.
I was a very, very lost, very empty person.
[...] Something's not right with my head."
Mack also spoke at the sentencing, but didn't believe Koppenhaver had changed, telling the
judge,
"I do know when he gets out, he will kill me."
Koppenhaver will be eligible for parole when he is 71 years old, but TMZ reported that
Koppenhaver surprisingly found love again from behind bars, getting engaged to pen pal-turned-fiancée
Ashley Farrington in July 2018.
Joseph Son is most famous for his role in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
as the character Random Task.
In real life, however, Son's activities were no laughing matter.
In 2011, he was convicted of participating in the gang rape and torture of a woman that
he and an accomplice reportedly kidnapped and assaulted on Christmas Eve in 1990.
According to The Daily Beast, DNA evidence from an unrelated case in 2008 linked Son
to the heinous crime, for which he was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
The victim was understandably shocked.
"I had his movie sitting on my rack.
I thought, are you serious?
He's in my home?"
One month after starting his sentence, the former MMA fighter beat his cellmate to death.
Prosecutors sought an additional life sentence for the murder, but the jury found Son guilty
of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.
Upon handing down the additional sentence of 27 years, the judge brought up Son's previous
conviction, telling him,
"That crime is as monstrous and despicable as anything this court has ever seen."
Harvey Weinstein was one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood before a tidal wave
of allegations brought his whole empire crashing down.
In October 2017, more than 80 women accused the man behind Miramax of sexual assault or
harassment going back years, which led to Weinstein being removed from his own company.
His accusers included Rose McGowan, Mira Sorvino, and Salma Hayek, who revealed that he had
threatened them and sabotaged their careers afterward.
He was first formally arrested in May 2018 after a lengthy trial, during which Weinstein
failed to garner sympathy through his frail appearance and use of a walker.
The producer was sentenced to 23 years in prison for third-degree rape and committing
a criminal sexual act in the first degree.
But that wasn't the end of Weinstein's legal troubles.
Law enforcement had him extradited to Los Angeles in 2021 so that he could face additional
charges against another woman, who alleged that he had assaulted her at a film festival
in 2013, per AP News, telling the court:
"Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman.
[...] There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage."
Despite pleading innocent, he was sentenced to an additional 16 years in prison.
Weinstein is also still facing indecent assault charges in the UK.
In 2020, Joe Exotic emerged as an outrageous personality on Netflix's documentary series
Tiger King, which showed him promoting his Oklahoma exotic animal park and engaging in
a bitter rivalry with animal rights activist Carole Baskin.
But the big cat entertainer went too far when he tried to hire someone to murder his nemesis.
"I truly believe in karma.
And a few people got some karma coming."
Exotic had been accused of animal cruelty repeatedly over the years; the entertainer
was documented feeding his big cats by shooting horses that had been donated, and buying expired
Walmart meat that was also consumed by his employees.
This brought him to Baskin's attention, and once she started campaigning against him,
Exotic responded with bizarre online videos and public threats.
In 2019, an FBI investigation revealed that he had attempted to pay someone to kill Baskin.
Exotic ultimately received a sentence of 22 years in prison.
Baskin later said in a video statement,
"If he completes his sentence and is released, we will end up spending the rest of our lives,
constantly looking over our shoulders."
Despite his attempts to win a pardon from former president Donald Trump, Exotic remained
in prison.
In 2021, he was transferred to a federal medical facility to treat his recently diagnosed prostate
cancer.
And as of 2023, the unlikely celebrity is reportedly not receiving any more treatment
for the cancer, which may have spread to his bladder, as he revealed in a letter published
by TMZ.
William Hayden became a familiar face on the Discovery Channel's Sons of Guns, a reality
show about his family-run weapons shop in Louisiana.
The show was canceled in 2014 due to Hayden's arrest, and during his 2017 trial, an awful
truth about Hayden came to light.
As The Advocate reported, he was first arrested for raping a preteen girl in 2014 after his
assistant contacted the police.
This led to a trial where the now-15-year-old testified that he had preyed on her repeatedly,
beginning when she was only 11.
She was joined on the stand by a 37-year-old woman who alleged that she had also been a
victim of child sexual abuse by Hayden over two decades earlier, at the age of 12.
His oldest daughter Stephanie, who had previously appeared with her father on Sons of Guns,
later told Dr. Phil that he had sexually abused her as well, which led to another sex crime
charge.
At the end of his trial, Hayden was found guilty of aggravated rape and forcible rape.
He was sentenced to two simultaneous life sentences plus another 40 years in prison,
ensuring that he would be spending the rest of his years in jail.
He later received a third life sentence in July 2017, which the assistant district attorney
declared,
"[This conviction will] satisfy our obligation to the public for public safety to make sure
that this defendant stays in jail for the rest of his life."
Canadian rapper Tory Lanez torpedoed his budding career in July 2020 by shooting Megan Thee
Stallion twice after they attended a party together.
Megan later wrote about the incident for The New York Times, comparing it to other acts
of violence against Black women in America, recalling that Lanez shot at her while she
was walking away from his car.
Megan also told GQ that he had offered her money to keep her mouth closed about the incident.
Lanez denied shooting Megan and insisted that she was lying in order to hurt him, even mentioning
the situation in his music.
According to Megan's testimony in court, he also got other male rappers to believe him
and slander her, recounting on the stand,
"Every man in a position of power in the music industry has taken his side.
[...] Not a day goes by without being called a liar."
But Lanez's defense didn't hold up in court.
According to The New York Times, he was ultimately found guilty of three felony charges and sent
to jail in December 2022: assault with a semiautomatic handgun, having a loaded and unregistered
firearm in a vehicle, and gross negligence in discharging his firearm.
Amy Locane became entangled with the law after a fatal drink-driving accident in 2010.
Best known for the John Waters film Cry-Baby and the soap Melrose Place, the actor was
driving around Montgomery, New Jersey, when she hit a car turning into a driveway while
speeding at 53 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour area.
The passenger, 60-year-old mother of two Helene [hel-EEN] Seeman, died on the scene and her
husband Fred Seeman was airlifted to hospital.
According to NJ.com, she had already been involved in a minor collision earlier that
night and when the police took her in, Locane confessed that she had been drinking.
Her blood alcohol level was tested and turned out to be almost three times over the legal
limit.
During her trial for second-degree vehicular homicide and third-degree assault by auto,
her lawyers fought for a lighter sentence due to her young children, and she initially
ended up serving only three years in prison.
Helene's family insisted that the sentence had been too forgiving.
The surviving victim argued in court,
"My son is about to have a granddaughter and my wife will never be able to hold her.
[...] This has to stop.
People can't drink and drive."
The law agreed with him: after a series of appeals, Locane received a new sentence of
eight years in 2020, and went back to jail for the second time.
Smallville actor Allison Mack went to prison for her role in the sex cult NXIVM after it
was revealed that she had been finding women and drawing them into the abusive group under
the false impression that it was a female mentorship program.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mack first met NXIVM founder Keith Raniere in 2006
and quickly rose through the ranks and recruited women to become sex slaves for Raniere.
Mack reportedly blackmailed these women through nude photos, physically abused them, and branded
the initials of her and Reniere onto them.
"Imagine a hot laser dragged across your flesh for 30 minutes without anesthetic."
In an interview with The New York Times, she confessed that it was her idea to use branding
rather than tattoos, saying,
"People get drunk and tattooed on their ankle 'BFF,' or a tramp stamp.
I have two tattoos and they mean nothing.'"
After an FBI investigation, Mack went on trial for racketeering charges in 2019.
In a letter published by Variety before her sentencing, she called NXIVM
"...the biggest mistake and greatest regret of my life."
The judge ultimately sentenced her to three years in prison, explaining his reasoning
in a memorandum:
"While I accept your contrition as sincere and your efforts toward rehabilitation as
genuine, it is impossible to ignore the tremendous injuries that you caused."
Jen Shah became one of the most notorious women in The Real Housewives franchise when
she was exposed for taking advantage of the elderly and defrauding them of their savings
through a telemarketing scheme.
The star of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City had garnered outrage before her trial
by releasing "Justice for Jen" merchandise and creating a new tagline for her second
season:
"The only thing I'm guilty of is being Shah-mazing."
These decisions looked tactless when the details of her scheme started coming out in court;
the US Attorney's office formally accused Shah of conspiracy to commit fraud and money
laundering through a ring that she was heavily involved with since 2012.
In 2022, she pled guilty.
Shah asked the judge for a reduced sentence in a letter published by CNN, arguing.
"The terrible business decisions I made and professional relationships I developed stemmed
from some personal painful experiences that I was going through in my life."
The court eventually decided in January 2023 that she would spend six and a half years
in prison and pay over $6 million to her victims.
She reported to prison in February 2023.
The real estate mogul Todd Chrisley and his wife Julie Chrisley became famous on the USA
Network show Chrisley Knows Best, where their family showed off their expensive lifestyle.
As it turned out, the Chrisleys had actually been paying for their luxurious surroundings
by committing fraud and conning banks into giving them loans.
The reality stars were indicted over their tax evasion during the seventh season in August
2019, which led to a series of federal charges.
As Insider reported, their accountant, Peter Tarantino, was also put on trial and ended
up with a sentence of three years in prison for assisting them and faking tax returns.
In November 2022, Todd and Julie found out their own respective fates: Todd would be
in prison for 12 years and Julie for seven years.
An FBI spokesperson stated,
"When you lie, cheat and steal, justice is blind as to your fame, your fortune, and your
position."
After they received their sentences, their show was canceled, and so was their children's
spin-off, Growing Up Chrisley.
They reported to prison in January 2023 and are planning to appeal their case, according
to People.