Wesley Snipes will serve three years in jail for tax evasion.

In February the Blade actor was convicted of failing to file his taxes for five years. The star was acquitted of tax fraud and filing a false claim, as well as three misdemeanor counts of wilful failure to file a tax return.

But today in Florida, U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges sentenced Snipes to three years imprisonment.

Earlier this week, Snipes’ famous friends, like actors Woody Harrelson and Denzel Washington, sent letters to the judge as character references.

The actor’s attorneys argued that Snipes’ crimes did not warrant a prison
sentence, and that the star should be given probation. Details of when Snipes will have to surrender to prison, and where he will serve his sentence have not been released.

Source

WENN

Prosecutors are recommending a three-year prison sentence for Wesley Snipes for tax evasion, according to a court filing released – appropriately – on Tuesday, tax day.

Per the papers, filed by U.S. Attorney Robert O’Neill, the actor also ought to pay a $5 million fine for his “brazen defiance” of tax laws that cheated the government out of $41 million.

“This case cries out for the statutory maximum term of imprisonment, as well as a substantial fine, because of the seriousness of defendant Snipes’ crimes and because of the singular opportunity this case presents to deter tax crime nationwide,” the attorney writes.

The documents also claim that Wesley and two cohorts “brazenly waged a campaign” against the Internal Revenue Service by mailing fake claims and filings to the agency, in addition to making “frivolous” Freedom of Information Act requests for IRS records.

Wesley was convicted in February on three misdemeanor counts of willfully failing to file tax returns from 1999-2001. The maximum sentence of each count is one full year. The Blade star avoided penalty for two felony counts of fraud in seeking refunds from other years and filing false claims.

Source

WENN

Wesley Snipes has every reason to be smiling!

Wesley Snipes was acquitted of tax fraud but was convicted of failure to file taxes, in a Florida courtroom today.

Snipes was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of failing to file a tax return, faces up to three years in federal prison. His income over the period of time in which he failed to file amounted to millions of dollars.

He was acquitted of two felonies, including conspiracy to commit tax fraud. He was also acquitted of three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file a tax return.

The actor, who is currently free on bond, said, after the ruling: “I’m feeling great – a little confused, but great.” Asked if he is worried about going to prison, he said, “I don’t know. It’s nice to be out here with you right now. We live in the moment.”

WENN

U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill got the jury in the Wesley Snipes trial laughing on Tuesday – no small feat in a tax-evasion trial – bringing up Steve Martin and his King Tut routine. From that he launched into the comedian’s “How to Make a Million Dollars and Not Pay Taxes.”

First you make a million dollars and when the IRS asks why you didn’t pay taxes, you simply say, “I forgot,” O’Neill told the jury in closing arguments.

The jury, which will begin deliberations Wednesday morning, laughed. But after the jury was dismissed for the day, Snipes was not laughing and admitted he was scared.

“Of course you would be nervous,” he says. “You’re on trial. Anybody would have a certain amount of anxiety about that. But I have a great deal of faith in the Most High and the Good Lord and the truth shall set you free. So, I’m looking forward to being free, going back to what I do best.”

Usually arrayed in somber dark suits and ties, Snipes wore a brightly colored striped kente cloth tie from Ghana. His wife, 10-month-old son and mother were in the courtroom to lend moral support.

When asked if he plans on paying his taxes when the trial is over, Snipes told PEOPLE he remains confused as to what the IRS wants of him.

“I’ve always been paying my taxes and I’ve always been trying to comply,” he says. “This question is, did they tell you what you’re supposed to do to comply? We should be able to go to our government and get clear answers.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Scotland Morris supplied the government’s answer: “Nobody likes paying taxes. Nobody. But paying taxes is the price we pay to live in a civilized society.”

Source, WENN

Wesley Snipes’ federal tax-evasion trial will go forward next month in this central Florida city, despite arguments by the actor’s lawyers. The rulings were made by U.S. District Judge William T. Hodges on Monday, according to court documents.

A telephone message left for Snipes’ attorney wasn’t immediately returned Thursday morning. His lawyers had claimed the 45-year-old actor cannot get a fair trial in Ocala, located about 80 miles north of Orlando. Snipes previously filed two motions to dismiss or transfer the trial because of racial prejudices. Federal prosecutors have previously said there is ”no basis in reality” for Snipes’ claims.

An October 2006 federal indictment charges Snipes with fraudulently claiming refunds totaling almost $12 million in 1996 and 1997 for income taxes already paid. The star of the ”Blade” trilogy and other films also was charged with failure to file returns from 1999 through 2004. Snipes allegedly conspired with American Rights Litigators founder Eddie Ray Kahn and tax preparer Douglas P. Rosile Sr. to file false refund claims based on a bogus argument that only income from foreign sources was subject to taxation.

Lawyers argued Snipes had the right to a trial in New York, where he lived between October 2000 and April 2005 when the offenses allegedly occurred, or in Orlando, where he also has a home.