AceShowbiz - Rapper Method Man has pleaded guilty to a tax evasion charge in New York, after falling $106,000 (GBP70,670) behind in payments. The Wu-Tang Clan rapper was arrested in October 2009 and charged with tax evasion after withholding state and personal income taxes from 2004 to 2007.

The MC was sentenced to a conditional discharge and all charges will be removed from his record if he stays out of trouble. According to his attorney Peter Frankel, the rapper has made his final restitution payment and immediately corrected the tax issue once notified.

Method Man, real name Clifford Smith, blamed laziness for his failure to file tax returns shortly after his headline-grabbing arrest, and has urged others to learn from his mistakes. In an interview with radio DJ Big Tigger he said, "When you don't file, that's what happens. I'm learning my lesson. You've got to file. You can't be waiting for the last minute. And I hadn't spoken to my CPA (accountant) in three or four years."