Wesley Snipes Got Three Years of Hard Time!

Wesley Snipes seeking for all the help he can get to (at least) minimize the penalty for his tax crime. He seeks support from fellow movie stars, such as Woody Harrelson and Denzel Washington, and others, with their letters attesting to Snipes’ good character, all in an effort to convince a judge that his conviction on tax charges should cost him nothing more than home detention and some public service announcements. He even wrote the government $5 million in checks. But apparently none of it worked. He was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday for failing to file tax returns.

The action star of the “Blade” trilogy, “White Men Can’t Jump”, “Jungle Fever” and other films hasn’t filed a tax return since 1998, the government alleged. Wesley Snipes and the IRS will work in future civil proceedings to determine his full tax liability, plus interest and penalties. He was the highest-profile criminal tax target in years, and prosecutors called for a heavy sentence to deter others from trying to obstruct the IRS. The government alleged Snipes made at least $13.8 million for the years in question and owed $2.7 million in back taxes.

Snipes was acquitted in February of five additional charges, including felony tax fraud and conspiracy. Co-defendants Douglas P. Rosile and Eddie Ray Kahn were convicted on both those counts. Kahn, who refused to defend himself in court, was sentenced to 10 years, while Rosile received 54 months. Both will serve three years of supervised release. Snipes will serve one year of supervised release.

Snipes and Rosile remain free and will be notified when they are to surrender to authorities. Defense attorney Carmen Hernandez signaled in court that Snipes would pursue an appeal. Kahn was the founder of American Rights Litigators, and a successor group, Guiding Light of God Ministries, that purported to help members legally avoid paying taxes. Rosile, a former accountant who lost his licenses in Ohio and Florida, prepared Snipes’ paperwork.

U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges said Snipes exhibited a “history of contempt over a period of time” for U.S. tax laws, and granted prosecutors the three-year sentence they requested — one year for each of Snipes’ convictions of willfully failing to file a tax return from 1999-2001. “In my mind these are serious crimes, albeit misdemeanors”, Hodges said. Snipes gets the maximum penalty — and a victory for prosecutors who sought to make an example of the action star.

This is something awful for Snipes, but hopefully his experience could be a good example for other actors with similar problems. You don’t want to sorry later than today, right?

Image was taken from http://www.winknews.com

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