Wesley Snipes goes to jail for tax fraud conviction

Wesley Snipes goes to jail for tax fraud conviction

Hollywood action star Wesley Snipes was ordered to surrender to authorities after a federal court junked his request for a re-trial of his tax evasion case. His bail was revoked and Snipes was told to report to prison under the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons. Coincidentally, Snipes starred in the 1998 film “U.S. Marshals”, where he played the role of a fugitive.

U.S. District Judge Terrell Hodges issued a ruling that said, “the defendant Snipes had a fair trial…The time has come for the judgement to be enforced.”  The 48-year old actor’s attorney Daniel Meachum plans to appeal his client’s case. “Wesley is very disappointed but staying strong and positive,” Meachum told the Orlando Sentinel.

Snipes, whose films include the “Blade” movies,” “White Men Can’t Jump” and “Jungle Fever”, has lost his appeal for a 2008 conviction of three counts of failing to file income tax returns between 1999 and 2001. He was acquitted of five other counts of felony tax charges. Court documents said that the actor earned at least $38 million in 1999 but did not file the appropriate tax returns until late 2006. The re-trial request by Snipes and his legal team were based on evidence that jurors of the 2008 case had pre-judged Snipes even before the trial started, and that one key witness against Snipes was also convicted in a separate trial.

Snipes would most likely receive a notice to surrender in the coming days from the Bureau of Prisons. He already has a prisoner ID issued by the Bureau, whose website designates the actor as prisoner number 43355-018 with an “in-transit” status.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Saturday November 20 2010, 4:26 AM EDT. Ref: Reuters. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment, Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0