R&B crooners K-Ci and JoJo are free on bail after being arrested on tax evasion charges. The brothers, who built their career as part of the early 1990s group Jodeci, were released yesterday (April 6) from a Raleigh, N.C., jail. They are charged with failing to pay taxes due to North Carolina for shows the duo performed in the state during 1999, 2000, and 2001, said their lawyer, James Williams.
Neither brother was aware they owed the money, Williams said. The brothers, who grew up singing in Charlotte-area churches, did not know they would be arrested upon returning to their home state, he said.
“Both of these young men, as artists, do not handle their own affairs. They were victimized,” he said. “The best I can discern, their main problem is that they changed accountants. It’s just a matter of paperwork that needs to be filed and money that needs to be sent.”
Cedric Renard “K-Ci” Hailey, 33, was charged with two counts of failure to pay taxes for 1999 and 2000. He was released on $287,727 bail. Joel Lamont “JoJo” Hailey, 31, was charged with three counts of failure to pay taxes in 1999, 2000, and 2001. He was released on $370,000 bail. Both men are scheduled to appear in court May 1.
Wake County sheriff’s deputies arrested the brothers Saturday night after a Raleigh arena performance in which they opened for fellow R&B acts Jaheim and Tank. “We let them perform. Then they came off the stage, and [deputies] arrested them,” said Sheriff Donnie Harrison.
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