mrsquirrel
Joined: 13 Dec 2006
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 Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:37 pm Post subject: Snipes Gets Three Years in Prison in Income-Tax Case |
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Snipes Gets Three Years in Prison in Income-Tax Case (Update1)
By Doris Bloodsworth
April 24 (Bloomberg) -- Actor Wesley Snipes was sentenced to the maximum three years in prison for failing to file income tax returns.
Snipes, 45, was found guilty Feb. 1 in federal court in Ocala, Florida, on three misdemeanor counts. U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges sentenced him today to one year for each charge, to be served consecutively.
``I am very sorry for my mistakes and errors,'' Snipes told the judge. ``As I was sitting here today, a street saying came to mind -- more money, more problems.''
Hodges granted prosecutors' request for the maximum prison sentence allowed by law. Prosecutors estimated that Snipes failed to pay $15.6 million in income taxes over six years. He also hid millions of dollars in offshore accounts and threatened U.S. government employees, including one who rejected a $4 million refund claim as frivolous, the government said in court papers.
``These are serious crimes, albeit misdemeanors, because he has a history of contempt over time,'' the judge said.
Snipes's defense lawyers, in court papers, urged the judge to sentence him to probation. He is ``not a dangerous man'' and has lived an ``otherwise lawful life,'' his lawyers said. They said Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington had written a letter to the court calling Snipes a longtime friend who lived a principled life built on ``honesty, truth and courage.''
Prosecutors argued that Snipes's acquittal on more serious felony charges created a public perception that the actor beat the rap.
Tax Denier Tactics
Snipes, in refusing to pay taxes, followed a number of tactics employed by so-called tax deniers, the government said. Such people assert that the law doesn't require U.S. citizens to pay income tax, often relying on century-old Supreme Court cases and other repudiated legal theories to make their case.
The Justice Department earlier this year began a nationwide crackdown against the movement, pledging to target tax deniers with criminal and civil cases.
Co-defendant Eddie Ray Kahn of Sorrento, Florida, who operated what prosecutors called a ``tax-fraud mill,'' was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. Douglas Rosile of Venice, Florida, an accountant whose license was revoked in two states, received a four and 1/2-year sentence.
``The law is very clear: people must pay their taxes,'' Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman said in a statement.
The case is U.S. v. Snipes, 06-22, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, Ocala Division. |
People better watch out for the Day-Walker in prison. |
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