It's a new day! Lauryn Hill has been released from federal prison after serving her 3-month sentence for tax evasion, TMZ reports. The 38-year-old singer walked out a free woman from the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut on Friday, Oct. 4.
In June 2012, the Grammy winner was charged with tax evasion after federal prosecutors claimed that the New Jersey native failed to file income tax returns between 2005 and 2007. (The former Fugees member earned $1.6 million during that time.)
Almost a year after the charge, the "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" singer began her 3-month sentence on July 8. In May, U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo scolded Hill for not paying up. "This is a criminal matter. Actions speak louder than words, and there has been no effort here to pay these taxes," she said at the time.
Hill's release will surely be a change for the star, who continues to live in her home state with her six children — Zion David-Nesta, Selah, Joshua, John, Sarah and Micah. During her time at prison, she lived in "dormitory-style" living quarters where inmates were expected to work jobs in food service, landscaping or maintenance.