West Coast Choppers Ex-wife Janine James Sentenced to Prison

by Boss Hawg on January 1, 2009

West Coast Choppers custom motorcycles builder Jesse James ex-wife Janine James has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for tax evasion and ordered to pay almost $300,000 in outstanding taxes.  We must wonder how this happens when she  had money enough put a down payment on a $647,000 house and bought two new vehicles despite knowing about her tax debt?

Janine James claimed her ex-husband, custom motorcycle builder Jesse James of famed West Coast Choppers is rumored to have pushed the IRS in her criminal prosecution, after alerting them, to gain leverage over their young daughter’s bitter custody fight. A family court judge in Orange County, Calif., awarded Jesse James temporary custody of Sunny James while Janine James is in prison.

“At this low point in my life, I tried to create the lifestyle I thought was taken from

Sunny when her father left me for Sandra Bullock. That was a big mistake,” she wrote. “I was hurt and confused and made bad decisions about how I spent my money, ignoring my back taxes. I was threatened and intimidated by Jesse’s wealth, afraid I might lose my daughter to that wealth someday, and tried to ‘keep up.’”

Janine Lindemulder married West Coast Choppers founder and celebrity motorcycle builder Jesse G. James in 2002. Their tumultuous relationship was seen in the Discovery Channel documentary Motorcycle Mania 3 which featured the couples marriage ceremony as well as an insight into their troubled times.

According to reports, Janine James was ordered Monday to live in a residential community corrections center for up to six months after her release from prison and to serve one year of supervised release.  Well you can bet that West Coast Choppers Jesse James is happier and will continue building custom motorcycles. She has until March 10th to report to prison.

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