'Dance Moms' Star Abby Lee Miller Sentenced to 1 Year and 1 Day in Federal Prison for Fraud

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Abby Lee Miller
was sentenced on Tuesday to one year and one day in federal prison after pleading guilty to bankruptcy fraud last June, ET can confirm.

Chief Judge Joy Flowers Conti in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, also ruled that the former Dance Moms star pay a $40,000 fine and serve two years probation after her time behind bars. While on probation, she will need to live in a place "approved by the probation officer." If she decides to relocate or her living arrangements change, she will need to notify her probation officer 10 days before the change. 

Miller admitted to ET on Monday when she arrived in court that she was "nervous" about the outcome of her hearing, but an eyewitness tells ET she was stoic when the judge read her sentence.

"Somehow you got caught up in the fame and lost your moral compass," Conti told Miller. "I hope when you get out the stars align for you."


EXCLUSIVE: Abby Lee Miller's Biggest Revelations -- From Dance Moms and Dancing With the Stars Drama to Prison and Dating


Earlier in the day, Miller sobbed as she made a plea for leniency to the judge. "My friends and colleagues have shed tears because of my careless mistakes. I have accepted responsibility for my actions and plead guilty to the two charges against me," she said. "I know that my future is uncertain. I can only assure you that I will never be in front of a court again."

Miller has a little over a month before she will have to report to prison, but it was not specified as to where she will serve her time. Miller's lawyer did request that she be placed at a facility in California, claiming that Miller fully resides in Los Angeles and not Pittsburgh. Judge Conti agreed to make that recommendation on Miller's behalf, stating that it would be best for the TV star to serve her sentence "wherever your support would be the strongest."

In an exclusive interview with ET, Miller admitted that she wasn't ready to face prison time. "No, no. No, no. I have to save my tears for the pillow," she said in March. "People ask me, 'Aren't you worried? Aren't you this, aren't you that?' I can't think about it. I have to live every day. In the end, I have to believe that everything will work out and the truth will come out. I think there's a lot more to it, there's a lot more moving parts to this case … like I teach my kids, life is not fair."


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Prior to her court date, the 50-year-old dance instructor underwent gastric bypass surgery, a procedure that reduced her stomach by 80 percent. "I think this is the right time," Miller told ET in another exclusive interview last month. "People are saying, 'But your sentencing is coming up in a couple weeks!' And that is true, and I’m really nervous about that -- more than the surgery -- but there's no right time."

Check out more of our latest emotional sit-down interview with Miller:


Reporting by Darla Murray.

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