PITTSBURGH _ Reality TV star Abby Lee Miller was sentenced Tuesday to a year and a day in federal prison for concealing assets from U.S. bankruptcy court and to sneaking cash into the U.S. after dance instruction trips to Australia.
U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti told Miller, the former star of the television show "Dance Moms," that she felt compelled to send her to prison rather than give her the probation term she wanted. The judge said the sentence reflects a need to enforce respect for the bankruptcy process and the law.
"Somehow you got caught up in this world of fame and got sidetracked," the judge said, "and you lost your moral compass."
In addressing the court before a gallery packed with supporters, Miller sobbed as she recounted all her travails in trying to save her Penn Hills, Pa., dance studio and her sudden rise to fame on "Dance Moms."
"I am very sorry for what I've done," said Miller, 50. "I can only assure you that I will never be before a criminal court again."
She said she never meant to harm anyone financially and that her crime was a result of her inexperience with running her businesses after she became famous.
"I never intended to stiff anybody," she said.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Melucci said Miller knew what she was doing and was motivated by greed.
"She went from 'Dance Mom' to 'Dance Con,'" he said of her schemes to defraud bankruptcy court. "This can't be allowed to go on."
In addition to the prison term, Conti imposed a term of probation for two years and a fine of $40,000. Miller will also have to pay a money judgment of $120,000, the amount she smuggled into the U.S. from the trips to Australia.
