Dance Moms' Abby Lee Miller Says She's 'Scared to Death' to Potentially Go to Prison over Fraud
Abby Lee Miller pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud in June, and hopes people see her as an "example" of what not to do
Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller is mentally preparing herself for the possibility she’ll soon be behind bars but is, admittedly, “scared to death.”
Miller, 49, broke down while discussing her bankruptcy fraud case on this week’s edition of the podcast Allegedly with Theo Von & Matthew Cole Weiss podcast.
“It’s a fact of life, I made mistakes,” Miller admitted. “I thought I was doing the right thing, I thought I had guidance. I thought I was on the up and up, and I wasn’t.”
In June, Miller pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud after being accused of attempting to hide $775,000 of income from her reality show. She further pleaded guilty to failing to report thousands of Australian dollars she brought into the United States in separate plastic bags.
Prosecutors said Miller could face 24 to 30 months in prison, but her attorney said her creditors did not suffer any losses, so sentencing should range from probation to up to six months behind bars.
“I think if I didn’t have a sense of humor and I couldn’t crack some jokes now and then I would have already gone insane,” she said, calling the situation “humiliating and embarrassing.”
Miller owned up to her mistakes, explaining that she hopes others learn from her.
“If I can be an example from other people, you really have to learn. … I did all the things I thought I should do, and I still screwed up, big-time,” she admitted to Weiss and Von. “I’m not going to deny anything, they were my mistakes. I am taking full responsibility for them, I have to. There’s no passing the buck. … If I did it wrong, I was wrong.”
The reality star was granted a delay on her sentencing last month, pushing the court date back to Dec. 2, Deadline reported.
Until then – amid the current, sixth season of Dance Moms – Miller is preparing for a potential stint behind bars with a specialist hired by her attorneys in Pittsburgh. She’s also relying on friends.
“I have great friends, unfortunately they’re around the country, they’re not here,” she said of her support system, dissolving into tears. “It used to be the moms until recently and I don’t know, you know.”
Even if she does get sentenced to jail time, Miller insisted, “I didn’t set out to do anything wrong.”
She added, “I want people to know that I’m human … I’ve been through hell.”