According to TMZ, Sorrentino entered the expected plea in a New Jersey federal court at a hearing Friday morning

Mike “the Situation” Sorrentino has pled guilty in his tax case, the United States Attorney, District of New Jersey, announced Friday.

Sorrentino, 36, entered the expected plea in a New Jersey federal court at a hearing Friday morning, as first reported TMZ. He was accompanied by his girlfriend, Lauren Pesce and pleaded guilty to Count 13 of the superseding indictment, which charges him with tax evasion. His brother Marc, 38, pleaded guilty to Count 5, which charges him with aiding in the preparation of a false and fraudulent tax return.

Get push notifications with news, features and more.

Image zoom Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino arriving at a New Jersey federal court on Friday with his girlfriend Lauren Pesce Splash News

“What the defendants admitted to today, quite simply, is tantamount to stealing money from their fellow taxpayers,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said in a press release. “All of us are required by law to pay our fair share of taxes. Celebrity status does not provide a free pass from this obligation.”

According to TMZ, he is facing up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine — but the judge did approve him to travel to Miami, where his former castmates from the hit MTV reality series are currently filming a reboot, Jersey Shore Family Vacation.

Earlier this week, The Blast obtained court documents in which the Jersey Shore alum and his brother Marc agreed to enter a guilty plea at Friday’s hearing. The week prior, the brothers had reportedly rejected a plea deal in the case.

The two were initially indicted in September 2014 for tax offenses and conspiring to defraud the United States after allegedly failing to properly pay taxes on $8.9 million in income from 2010 to 2012.

In April 2017, both men were indicted on additional charges including tax evasion, structuring and falsifying records. Initially, they pled not guilty to all charges.

Speaking to PEOPLE last year, Sorrentino said that he was “trying to take these experiences that are coming my way and make them a positive.”