Isley singer jailed for tax fraud

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Soul singer Ronald Isley has been sentenced to three years in a US prison for multiple counts of tax fraud.

The 64-year-old, lead singer of the Isley Brothers, was also ordered to pay more than $3.1m (£1.62m) to the US tax service for "pathological" evasion.

The musician, whose band won a Grammy in 1970 for their biggest hit It's Your Thing, was convicted in October 2005.

The court heard he cashed royalty cheques belonging to his brother O'Kelly, who died in 1996.

He also spent millions of dollars made from undeclared performances on a yacht and two homes.

Chart-topping

US District Court Judge Dean Pregerson declined to give Isley a lesser sentence on the grounds of ill health and despite his sale of assets to pay back the Internal Revenue Service.

He had a stroke last year and suffered from kidney cancer.

Judge Pregreson agreed with the description of Isley as a "serial tax avoider".

The three Isley brothers began their singing 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, while Isley and his younger brother Ernie scored a chart-topping album with Body Kiss in 2003.

Isley and his new wife Kandy are expecting a baby in early 2007.