Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino released a statement on his eight-month prison sentence for tax evasion.
Along with the jail time, the Jersey Shore Family Vacation star was also sentenced to two years of supervised release, will have to order 500 hours of community service and will pay a fine of $10,000; along with $123,913 in restitution that he already paid.
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“Mike accepts the courts decision and looks forward to marrying his college sweetheart, Lauren Pesce and moving forward together after serving his sentence. He anticipates to come back stronger as an individual and couple in the same healthy mind set that he has had for the last 3 years. He and Lauren are both so thankful for everyone’s support and prayers!” Sorrentinos’ rep told Us Weekly.
The statement comes hours after the reality star was given the official sentence at a New Jersey courthouse. Sorrentino’s friends and Jersey Shore castmates Jenni “JWoww” Farley, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Deena Cortese, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Vinny Guadagnino, Pauly “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio and Angelina Pivarnick were all in attendance during the hearing.
Sorrentino’s lawyer, Henry E. Klingeman also shared his thoughts following the news.
“We’re disappointed… We hoped for probation,” Klingeman told reporters. “But the judge gave her reasons.”
He added that Sorrentino had “righted his life and the prison sentence would interrupt that progress, “But this doesn’t set him back.”
Sorrentino previously sought treatment for his battle with substance abuse and celebrated 34 months of sobriety on Thursday.
Prior to the sentencing, The Situation opened up to Us Weekly about his legal problems.
“We live our life one day at a time and we’re praying for a positive result,” Sorrentino told the outlet in September. “You know, my current situation is not my final destination.”
Earlier this month, he told PEOPLE that his life changed after seeking treatment for his addiction problems.
“I worked so hard to turn my life around and be the best person I can be,” he said. “I did it, and good things came around.”
Mike and his brother Marc — who himself was sentenced to two years in prison during Friday’s hearing — were indicted back in 2014 on tax evasion charges — allegedly not paying taxes on $8.9 million worth of income from 2010 to 2012. In April 2017, both of them were indicted with additional charges including tax evasion, structuring and falsifying records.
Sorrentino pleaded guilty in January to one count of tax evasion, Marc pleaded guilty to one count of aiding in the preparation of a false and fraudulent tax return.
In addition to his prison sentence, Marc will have to pay a fine of $75,000 within 30 days as well as restitution.
