A federal judge has sentenced OnlyFans creator Kylie Leia Perez, known as Natalie Monroe online, to one year in federal prison for filing a false tax return. Prosecutors said she made more than $5.4 million on the platform between 2019 and 2023 and left at least $1.5 million in tax unpaid.
OnlyFans Payouts Can Add Up Fast
The ruling came down on August 20, 2026, after the creator pleaded guilty on May 20, 2026. In addition to the one year sentence, she’ll also have one year of supervised release. Subscriptions, pay-per-view content and tips really added up for Perez, and she’s not alone. This is the second high-profile OnlyFans tax prosecution to reach sentencing, and the pattern in both is the same: platform income arrives with no tax withheld, and the creator, lacking good accounting advice, treats it as take-home pay.
Court documents say she filed a false return for 2019 and did not pay at least $1.5 million owed for 2020 through 2023. The original indictment, which came in August 2025, put the unpaid figure at $1.6 million. IRS Criminal Investigation ran the case and the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted it, with Assistant US Attorney Carlton C. Gammons named on the charging release.
Do You Have to Pay Taxes on OnlyFans Money?
OnlyFans pays creators as independent contractors, so nothing is deducted at source and the whole liability lands at filing time. IRS Criminal Investigation has been public about targeting creator-economy income in particular, though the type of creator is irrelevant in this case. This was not about how she earned the money, but how much she claimed.
The IRS Criminal Investigation said via press release last year that Perez “engaged in a scheme to evade the assessment of taxes,” but the bigger takeaway is less about scheming and more about understanding the economics of the creator economy: there’s no withholding, so quarterly estimated payments and communication with an accountant and the IRS, are key.
The lack of education or resources surrounding independent contractors —which cammers and models are— is a real problem in the industry. Nobody hands a new creator a tax form with their first payout, and the platforms that take twenty percent are not about to start. A year in prison is a brutal way to learn that the money was never all yours.
OnlyFans and Finances — Wet Ink‘s Advice
Wet Ink‘s resident financial columnist Charley Forde, has a helpful guide to money management that creators of all kinds —on all platforms— should read now! From knowing your numbers to saving for taxes; interest rates to balancing multiple streams of income; it’s all covered.
