Twista (born Carl Mitchell) has pleaded guilty to five counts of willfully failing to pay taxes for five years between 2019 and 2023.
The 52-year-old owes the IRS more than $440,000 in back taxes and now faces up to five years in prison, according to Chicago federal court documents viewed by Billboard. Each of the five charges comes with a one-year maximum sentence along with a $25,000 fine.
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Twista entered a guilty plea on Wednesday (June 24), which the court accepted. The Chicago native is slated to be sentenced on Oct. 22.
Broken down by year, the hefty six-figure sum of tax liabilities includes $18,891.25 for 2019, $5,715.83 for 2020, $32,571.71 for 2021, $71,703 for 2022, and $49,102.73 for 2023.
The “Overnight Celebrity” rapper was also found to have unpaid tax liabilities from 2011 through 2018. Including penalties and interest, the annual totals are listed as $5,101.98 for 2011, $9,619.26 for 2012 $40,263.33 for 2014, $25,574.22 for 2015, $95,568.57 for 2016, $17,241.44 for 2017, and $69,706.59 for 2018.
“Mitchell entered into agreements with a third-party company to pay him advances on future royalties, knowing that the IRS would not be able to levy these funds,” the IRS claimed, while alleging that Twista received payments totalling $578,322.
Federal prosecutors claimed that Twista bought luxury cars instead of using the funds to make payments on his tax liabilities.
The purchases named in the court docs list a “2015 BMW I8 worth $81,893.81, a 2016 Tesla Model X worth approximately $65,099, a 2022 Chevrolet Corvette worth $100,354.03 and a 2025 Jeep Gladiator worth $64,400.75.”
Hailing from Chicago, Twista rose to prominence in the early 2000s and became known for his speedy rapping and breath control. His 2004 Kamikaze album topped the Billboard 200, and he’s been part of three top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: the No. 1 hit “Slow Jamz” with Ye and Jamie Foxx, “Overnight Celebrity” (No. 6) and Trick Daddy’s “Let’s Go” (No. 7).
Billboard has reached out to Twista’s attorneys for comment.
