Former Dance Moms instructor Abby Lee Miller, in a recent appearance on Bethenny Frankel’s Just B podcast, opened up about her time in prison and suggested a shocking connection between her incarceration and her current reliance on a wheelchair. Six years after serving time for bankruptcy fraud, Miller claims that the harsh conditions and abrupt withdrawal of medication during her jail sentence are the reasons behind her mobility issues today.
Miller, 58, acknowledged her wrongdoing in the financial crimes that led to her imprisonment in 2016. However, she characterized the investigation into her finances as an excessive “witch hunt.” Adding fuel to her claims of unfair treatment, Miller alleged that the presiding judge in her case had a wife who was an avid “super fan” of Dance Moms. She implied that this connection, coupled with the publicity surrounding her upcoming spinoff series at the time, influenced the judge’s perception and contributed to the belief that she possessed substantial wealth from her television career.
“But I filed [for bankruptcy] before the show ever started,” Miller stated, aiming to debunk the notion of TV riches driving her fraud. Then, drawing a direct line between her legal troubles and health struggles, she declared, “Oh, that’s why I’m in a wheelchair, because in prison I was punished and taken off all my medication, cold turkey.”
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Abby Lee Miller. Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
The legal saga that led to Abby Lee Miller’s jail time began in October 2015 when she was charged with attempting to conceal $775,000 of income earned from Dance Moms, its spin-off Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, and other ventures during bankruptcy proceedings. Prosecutors alleged she hid these funds in secret bank accounts between 2012 and 2013. By June 2016, facing mounting evidence, Miller pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud, accepting responsibility for her financial misdeeds.
Further complicating her legal woes, Miller was also implicated in an incident involving $120,000 in cash earned during an Australian tour in August 2014. She was accused of instructing friends to carry portions of this sum in plastic bags in their luggage to bypass the legal requirement of reporting the import of foreign currency exceeding $10,000 into the United States. As part of her plea agreement, Miller agreed to forfeit this $120,000 Australian.
On the podcast, Miller pointed a finger at Melissa Gisoni, mother of Dance Moms stars Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler, for the decision to divide the Australian earnings. “That was Melissa [Gisoni],” Miller asserted, claiming Gisoni orchestrated the plan. “Melissa was all in charge of all the money. I taught the dance classes, they sold the merchandise.” She recounted Gisoni allegedly instructing, “‘Oh, we’re gonna bring this money home. And this is what we’re gonna do. Everybody’s gonna take 10,000, Abby. This is what we’re gonna do.’ Why, in God’s name? I was paying $650,000.” (Melissa Gisoni was never charged in connection with the bankruptcy fraud case and has not publicly commented on Miller’s accusations.)
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(L-R) Maddie Ziegler and Mackenzie Ziegler with their mother Melissa Gisoni. Albert L. Ortega/Getty
In May 2017, Abby Lee Miller received a sentence of one year and one day in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release. She was also hit with a $40,000 fine, ordered to pay the $120,000 judgment, and mandated to provide a DNA sample. She began her prison sentence in July of that year.
While incarcerated, Miller shared an update with her fans via Instagram in January 2018, offering a glimpse into her life behind bars. “Sometimes in life you make mistakes. I trusted the wrong people and didn’t pay any attention to things I should of. I’m more than sorry for the mistakes I have made,” she wrote in the caption, expressing remorse for her actions.
“My world flipped upside down when I had to enter prison,” she continued, dispelling rumors of preferential treatment. “I did so with grace, the stories you read about me [being] a princess are untrue. I have made friends with both inmates and staff, I’ve tried to better myself, participated in anything offered to me and I am a better person for this experience.”
However, her health took a dramatic turn in April 2018. Initially believed to be a spinal infection, emergency surgery revealed that Miller was battling Burkitt lymphoma, a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In the subsequent year, she underwent ten rounds of chemotherapy and extensive rehabilitation in her determined effort to regain her ability to walk.
In 2019, after achieving cancer-free status, Miller shared her aspirations with PEOPLE, stating, “I have goals. I have dreams and I want to see them come to fruition. I want to retire and want to be able to live out my days financially secure. That’s what everyone wants.” Her recent comments linking her wheelchair use to her prison experience add a new layer to her public narrative, raising questions about the long-term health consequences of incarceration and the treatment of inmates’ medical needs.
