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Wesley Snipes Sentenced to 3 Years in Jail for Tax Evasion
Written By Ann Turner
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Category: | Daily News |
Actor Wesley Snipes was sentenced to three years in jail on Wednesday on charges of tax evasion. Snipes was convicted by a federal jury in February for willfully failing to file his income taxes for at least three years. The Blade & star claimed that he refused to file tax returns because he believed the Internal Revenue Service is not a properly established government agency.
Snipes was found guilty of three misdemeanor charges by a federal jury in February of failing to file tax returns for 1999-2001. He was acquitted on two felony charges of felony tax fraud and conspiracy. On Wednesday, a Florida judge ruled Snipes would receive the maximum jail sentence possible for the charges—three years in jail. If Snipes had not been acquitted of the felony charges against him, he could have faced as much as 16 years in prison.
Snipes' lawyers argued that the total amount owed to the IRS by the actor was relatively small, about $228,000, and he had no prior criminal background. They asked that Snipes be released without prison time or a fine and given only probation. Hollywood stars from Denzel Washington to Woody Harrelson rallied behind Snipes in attempt to garner leniency in sentencing for the actor. Washington and Harrelson, along with dozens of other friends and family members, wrote character letters to the judge in the case asking the judge to be lenient.
Prosecutors in the case pushed for a maximum sentence as an example to others because of the actor's celebrity status, in hopes it would help deter tax crimes. In the end, prosecutors won out and Snipes will be spending a long jail sentence reconsidering his decision not to pay the IRS. He may also be forced to pay up to a $5 million fine for his actions, plus legal costs.
Snipes is expected to return home and surrender himself to begin his jail term at a later date.
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