Lately, it seems the words “controversy” and Empire find themselves in the same sentence. The most recent evidence of this is that Terrence Howard, who plays rap mogul Lucious Lyon on the Fox show, is under investigation for criminal tax evasion, reports The Blast.
Seems federal authorities are looking at possible crimes committed by Howard as well as his third ex-wife, Mira Howard ( who is now his fiancée again) and a company she owns called Universal Bridges Inc.
The site says the case is associated with activity out of the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and is still ongoing.
Here more via The Blast:
We’ve learned that the actor has hired a high profile white collar criminal attorney to defend him in the investigation. Our sources say within the last few weeks, federal investigators have already had initial discussions with Howard.
Terrence Howard and his fiancée became aware they were under investigation on May 20, 2019.
The actor has had his share of tax issues over the years. As The Blast first reported, he was hit with a tax lien in April by the State of California Franchise Tax Board for a total $143,538.61. The lien stems from taxes Howard reportedly owes from 2010.
Howard was also hit with tax liens from the federal government back in 2010 for $1.1 million and in 2006 for over $600,000.
See what we mean when we say Empire and “controversy” seem inseparable as of late? It was just this week that Lee Daniels, officially notified the world that Jussie Smollett will NOT return to Empire following allegations he staged an attack.