Rapper Ja Rule of Murder Inc. fame, who was sentenced last month by a New York court to a two-year jail term for illegal possession of weapons, was slapped with a new 28-month prison term by a federal court for tax evasion.

Ja Rule, who became a sensation in the 2000s with several chart topping hits like Between Me and You, I'm Real (Murder Remix), Always on Time, Mesmerize and Wonderful, has been convicted of evading taxes to the tune of $1.1 million.

He had admitted in March that he failed to pay taxes on more than $3 million that he earned between 2004 and 2006.

Ja Rule, who was born Jeffrey Atkins, has sold over 40 million records worldwide, and began to taste fame after his association with Cash Money Click and the debut in 1999 with Venni Vetti Vecci and its single Holla Holla.

In court before the sentencing, Ja Rule admitted to mistakes but said he was a youth with no guidance and was immature. He said he did not know how to handle fame and fortune, but that he never intended to cheat the government.

I in no way attempted to deceive the government or do anything illegal ... I was a young man who made a lot of money... I'm getting a little choked up... I didn't know how to deal with these finances, and I didn't have people to guide me, so I made mistakes.

He had made a similar statement in April, in an MTV show. Let me just clear this up for people who think that Ja Rule doesn't pay taxes: bullsh--, the rapper told MTV News' Sway Calloway. Ja Rule pays plenty of taxes, millions of dollars in taxes. I owed them a little bit more. I had some issues when the whole Murder Inc. thing went down with my accountant, and she had some federal issues with the boys herself for doing some things, so I fell into a few issues there, but it's not an issue like that. That's being taken care of.

Ja Rule, who appeared in The Fast and the Furious, Back in The Day, Just Another Day, and The Cookout, has had several brushes with law in the past.

He was arrested in 2007 on gun and drug possession charges. Police had stopped his Ja Rule's $250,000-plus Maybach sports car for speeding. while searching the car they found a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun in a rear door.

Before that, he was sued in 2003 for allegedly punching a man in Canada, but the case was settled out of court. A year later, he was arrested for driving with a suspended license and possessing marijuana. The same year, he was investigated in connection with a fatal shooting outside a nightclub party hosted by him.

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