US soul singer Ronald Isley has been jailed for tax fraud.
The Isley Brothers frontman has been sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay more than $3.1m (£1.62m) to the US tax service for “pathological” evasion, reports the BBC.
The court heard that the 64-year-old, whose band won a Grammy in 1970 for their hit ‘It’s Your Thing’, cashed royalty cheques belonging to his late brother O’Kelly and spent millions of dollars made from undeclared performances on a yacht and two homes.
Despite suffering a stroke last year and a battle with kidney cancer, US District Court Judge Dean Pregerson refused to give Isley a lesser sentence on the grounds of ill health.
The three Isley Brothers began their career in the 1950s, which continued into the 1970s as the line-up expanded with other family members.
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Isley and his younger brother Ernie also scored a chart-topping album with ‘Body Kiss’ three years ago.
Isley and his current wife Kandy are expecting a baby in early 2007.