USA: Actor Wesley Snipes arrested on tax evasion charges.

Actor Wesley Snipes surrendered to police on income-tax evasion charges early on Friday (December 8, 2006) at Orlando International Airport and is due to appear in court, the U.S. attorney's office said. Snipes, who has appeared in more than three dozen movies including the "Blade" series, "Jungle Fever," "White Men Can't Jump," "Rising Sun" and "U.S. Marshals," could face 16 years in prison if convicted on all charges. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Tampa, Florida, on October 17 on charges he illegally claimed tax refunds of almost 12 million U.S. dollars (USD). The indictment also said he failed to file income tax returns from 1999 through 2004. Snipes appeared at a court in Ocala at 10.30 a.m. (1530 GMT) where he was released on a 1 million USD bond. An attorney for Snipes, Billy Martin, said; "Mr Snipes has entered a plea of not guilty to these charges. And we intend, with our legal team, to defend these allegations in court. Mr Snipes has been charged with the intent to defraud the IRS and tax laws. We believe the evidence in this case will show he has been the victim of unscrupulous tax advice and this trial will help to vindicate him. We look forward to having our day in court." Snipes' lawyers and prosecutors negotiated the surrender and Snipes flew in from abroad, from a film set in Africa. Snipes was in Namibia since August filming a horror movie called "Gallowwalker." "I want to say thank you to all of the fans out there, for their support. I look forward to clearing my name and resolving this issue poste haste," Snipes said outside court. Snipes earlier said he would abide by the law, and in an e-mail to Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell Snipes complained he was being targeted unfairly by federal prosecutors, at least partly because he is black and famous.

ITN Source | December 14, 2006

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