Lauryn Hill has been sentenced to spend 3 months in FEDERAL PRISON for tax evasion … even though she claims she paid off her nearly $1 million bill to Uncle Sam before sentencing.

A judge in Newark, New Jersey dished out the sentence moments ago ... and told Hill that after she completes her stint behind bars, she'll spend 3 more months on house arrest ... followed by 9 months of supervised release.

Before the hearing, Hill's attorney told the media the singer scraped together more than $970,000 to repay her debt to the government. 
(source: olekubuzz.blogspot.com)