Indictment: Wesley Snipes a $12M tax cheat

[ZeoBandit]

Indictment: Wesley Snipes a $12M tax cheat
POSTED: 4:11 p.m. EDT, October 17, 2006

TAMPA, Florida (AP) -- Movie actor Wesley Snipes, star of "White Men Can't Jump" and the "Blade" films, was indicted Tuesday on eight counts of tax fraud accusing him of trying to cheat the government of $12 million in false refund claims.

Snipes, 44, also failed to file tax returns for six years, according to an indictment unsealed in Tampa, Florida.

An arrest warrant for the actor has been issued, officials said, adding that his whereabouts are unknown.

Federal prosecutors said that Snipes fraudulently claimed refunds totaling nearly $12 million in 1996 and 1997 on income taxes already paid. (Watch authorities describe Snipes' tactics -- 1:03 Video)

The indictment also charged him with failure to file returns between 1999 and 2004. (FindLaw.com: Read the indictmentexternal link)

According to the indictment, Snipes had his taxes prepared by accountants with a history of filing false returns to reap payments for their clients. As part of the deal, the indictment alleges, the firm, American Rights Litigators, would receive 20 percent of refunds from clients.

Snipes faces a maximum of 16 years in prison.

Snipes, who had a home in Windermere, Florida, has not been arrested because authorities don't know where he is, the IRS said.

In 2002, the Justice Department sued a Florida tax preparer who it said filed bogus tax refund claims, including a $7.3 million demand for Snipes.

Snipes was not named as a defendant in that case, but the lawsuit said the preparer's largest claim was an amended income tax return filed on behalf of the actor and dated April 14, 2001. The return requested a $7,360,755 refund for taxes paid in 1997. The return said that Snipes' adjusted gross income was zero, according to the lawsuit.

It said the preparer, Douglas P. Rosile Sr., told clients that only income from foreign sources was subject to taxation. The resolution of that lawsuit could not be immediately determined.

Snipes is the star of the "Blade" trilogy and as well as films such as Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever" and "Passenger 57."

In 2005, South Africa refused to admit him after officials said he tried to enter the country with a forged passport.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press.

[the_atomic_punks_rule]

Greedy fuck...put him in for the max!

[ZeoBandit]

They have to find him first........

[YankeeRose]

Snipes is great in movies like Blade 2, but I have read bad things about him. He is suppposed to have hit Halle Berry so hard when they were dating, that she is almost deaf in one ear now.

[onefootoutthedoor]

Snipes is great in movies like Blade 2, but I have read bad things about him. He is suppposed to have hit Halle Berry so hard when they were dating, that she is almost deaf in one ear now.

She's what?

[YankeeRose]

She's what?

She is almost deaf in one ear. She can barely hear in one ear, from an old boyfriend hitting her. One of her ex-boyfriends said she told him it was Wesley Snipes that did it.

[onefootoutthedoor]

She is almost deaf in one ear. She can barely hear in one ear, from an old boyfriend hitting her. One of her ex-boyfriends said she told him it was Wesley Snipes that did it.

[aceface9]

Maybe when they find him they can also find his career.

[chefcraig]

The problem with "artists" is that while they may excell in their chosen field, when it come to accepting responsibility for their finances, they are utterly clue-free.

They put their affairs in the hands of people who say "You want to trustme with your money? No problemo!" then wonder why they have financial issues down the line.

The list is endless: The Beatles, Billy Joel, Dottie West (who's handlers invested in losing race horses and non-existant foreign shrimping boats), Willie Nelson, Hall and Oates (who were basically penniless after all of those 80's hits) ect...

[Brett]

He needs the publicity that's for sure, his career is dead.

[hatchetforce]

Maybe when they find him they can also find his career.

LMFAO!

[smithjc]

Jeez did he need the $$'s that bad?

Sad. Preventable but sad nonetheless. Not to mention stupid on his part.

btw - I think his career is sitting somewhere next to VH's. Relax, J/K!!

[chefcraig]

btw - I think his career is sitting somewhere next to VH's. Relax, J/K!!

He's actually better off, as he has not yet been forced to make the plunge to tv, either episodic or comedy. Look at Ray Liotta and Virginia Madsen. Their new show "Smith" (really, that was the name of it ) was cancelled after only 2 episodes.

And the world really doesn't need yet another "reality" show, like "Wesley Snipes: The Uncertain Life", or "On The Inside: The Incarcerrated Times Of Wesley Snipes" (soon to show up on BET, no doubt ).

He has done voice-overs on a couple of docuementaries that no-one has ever seen, however. And of course, there is always: "Major League, A New Beginning" or "White Men Still Can't Jump".

[muffdiver]

The problem with "artists" is that while they may excell in their chosen field, when it come to accepting responsibility for their finances, they are utterly clue-free.

They put their affairs in the hands of people who say "You want to trustme with your money? No problemo!" then wonder why they have financial issues down the line.

The list is endless: The Beatles, Billy Joel, Dottie West (who's handlers invested in losing race horses and non-existant foreign shrimping boats), Willie Nelson, Hall and Oates (who were basically penniless after all of those 80's hits) ect...

Geez , I never knew that Hall an' Oats were screwed outta their cash.That is fucked....I would have thought they were fucking totally loaded too...
Hit after hit after hit.....

[YankeeRose]

Snipes career seem to have died with Blade 3. Which I thought was a bad movie, and I loved the first two. His movies go direct to video now. Just like other 90's action stars like Van Damme, Seagal, and Dolph Lundgren.