Abby Lee Miller, the star of Lifetime's hit reality series "Dance Moms," filed for a third extension on her trial for a 20-count indictment of Federal fraud charges, Deadline Hollywood reported. The reality star claimed that she needed more time to review FBI evidence against her in order to prepare her defense, and her extension was granted on Thursday by Federal Judge Terrence McVerry.
"Additional time is needed for undersigned counsel to inspect and review the material located at the FBI's Pittsburgh Office in order to perform a complete investigation of the facts and law before making informed decisions concerning the filing of pretrial motions," Robert Ridge and Brandon Verdream, Miller's attorneys, wrote in court documents obtained by Deadline.
"Finding that sufficient cause exists for the requested extension to enable Defendant's counsel to review discovery material and to make informed decisions concerning the filing of pretrial motions, it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that said Motion is GRANTED," Judge Terrence McVerry wrote in his response, obtained by Deadline.
Miller filed for bankruptcy in December 2010, TMZ reported, just as she started to earn money from her hit Lifetime reality TV show "Dance Moms," which documented Miller's training of young dancers at the Abby Lee Miller Dance Company studios.
Judge Thomas Agresti was set to approve Miller's bankruptcy filing until he realized her involvement in the series and had not disclosed the income from her television contracts, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. After an investigation by the FBI and the IRS, Miller was charged in October last year with 20 counts of bankruptcy fraud, concealing assets and making false bankruptcy declarations.
Miller is expected to file pretrial court documents on March 1, with a trial date to be set at a later time.
