Porn Star Sentenced on Tax Evasion Charges

Porn star Janine Lindemulder, alias Janine M. James, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court to six months in federal prison for tax evasion:

U.S. Magistrate Thomas Coffin also ordered James, 40, to live in a residential community corrections center for up to six months after her release from prison and to serve one year of supervised release. ...  During her sentencing in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Cardani said James currently owes $294,000 in back taxes.

James, who first appeared in Penthouse magazine as the Pet of the Month in 1987 and later appeared in more than 50 adult films, was given until March 10 to report to prison. James was arrested following an investigation by the IRS. Between 2000 and 2006, during a period in which she owed $200,000 in federal income taxes, James spent more than $750,000, investigators alleged. She paid $648,000 to buy a home in Eugene in October 2005. She used nearly $182,500 from her divorce settlement from her former husband, Jesse James, owner of the West Coast Choppers motorcycle fabricator shop and host of the Monster Garage television show on the Discovery Channel, for the purchase.

In a letter to the court, Jesse James said he agreed to the settlement to help his ex-wife take care of her tax problems. None of the money went to the IRS, according to his letter and other court documents.

Janine James claimed her ex-husband alerted the IRS and pushed for her criminal prosecution to gain leverage in a bitter custody fight over their young daughter, who turns 5 next month. Jesse James left his then-wife while she was pregnant and later married film actress Sandra Bullock. ...

James famously posed for the cover of Blink-182's album Enema of the State and appeared in the Howard Stern movie Private Parts.

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(Hat Tip: Howard Bashman.)