Actor Wesley Snipes 3 Years Prison

[aperio]

Movie star Wesley Snipes was sentenced to three years imprisonment last night for his “brazen defiance” of the US taxman.

The 45-year-old Hollywood actor, who has starred in films including Blade, White Men Can’t Jump and Demolition Man, was given the maximum sentence possible after prosecutors described him to a court in Ocala, Florida, as a “truly notorious offender.” He did not have to go to prison immediately but must surrender to custody at a later date.

Snipes sat expressionless as the sentence was handed down. Asked if he had any reaction, he spread his arms and shrugged. One of his lawyers, Carmen Hernandez, complained: “Mr Snipes was sentenced because he’s Mr Snipes.”

The decision by US District Court judge William Terrell Hodges came two months after a jury convicted Snipes on three counts of willfully failing to file federal tax returns from 1999 to 2001.

The court heard yesterday that Snipes dodged $15 million (£7.5 million) in tax through a campaign in which he concealed millions offshore, falsely applied for tax refunds and bombarded the Internal Revenue Service with frivolous correspondence that threatened government employees, railed about extortion and used twisted legal interpretations to back his claim that taxation was unlawful.

“For nearly a decade, Snipes has engaged in a campaign of criminal tax conduct combining brazen defiance with insidious concealment,” the prosecuting attorney, Robert O’Neill, told the court in a sentencing memorandum. “In the defendant Wesley Snipes, the court is presented with a wealthy, famous and inveterate tax scofflaw. If ever a tax offender was deserving of being held accountable to the maximum extent for his criminal wrongdoing, Snipes is that defendant.”

[dramaqueen]

I never even heard anything about this until last night! I didn't even realize Snipes was refusing to pay taxes.
Anyway, he should have played by the rules and then he wouldn't have this mess on his hands.

[CopyCat]

YouTube - Actor Wesley Snipes Sentenced To 3...

He will never have to serve 3 years...
He may end up doing a few months
and be millions to the good... I wish
I could go to prison for a few months
and get out with a few millions...

[opinionatedfan]

I think you'll find he's still going to owe the taxes. It's not a matter of going to jail instead of paying but going to jail AND paying. It's about time the courts started holding the rich and the celebrities accountable just as they do the rest of us.

[The Master Chief]

Ehh, this honestly did not effect my opinion of Mr. Snipes much. There are so many different people dodging taxes out there, none of it even surprises me anymore. Snipes probably did it because he felt he could get away with it, which the same reason given by other tax cheats. Does he deserve his prison sentence? Yes, but a shorter sentence with him being ordered to pay what he owes would be more effective.

[mayansmom]

Who cares about this??? As you said he will only do a short amount and go on continuing to avoid paying his taxes. Why not??? Most big companies pay none and still continue doing business. One company has owed over 3 billion, yes billion and still continue to do business. That is what I am shocked at, not you and me and all the "little people". When these big companies that make millions a month start to pay what they owe then I will say the rest of us should pay, but why must we who make nothing in the realm of things pay the brunt????

[spiderpig]

He actually paid 5million that day before court, but by now that probably wasn't all he owed and couldn't keep him out of jail however short the time served will be. He won't be in long though as he will obviously be able to argue he needs to work to get the money, not just off his royalties, etc. He'll probably pay off the taxes, but not right away. He'll also be watched closely the next couple of filing years.