Snipes Gets Prison Time
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Actor Wesley Snipes was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison — and punished with fines that may cost him up to $5 million — for federal tax evasion. The sentence was the maximum allowed.
Last week, Mr. Snipes was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of failing to file his tax returns, though he was acquitted of more serious charges after his lawyers argued that Mr. Snipes had been the victim of unethical tax advisers. But in a letter to the Internal Revenue Service following his indictment in 2006, Mr. Snipes showed little remorse, declaring that the IRS seeks to “terrorize, enslave, rape or pillage” taxpayers.
“This case presents the court with a singular opportunity to deter tax fraud nationwide,” prosecutors urged in their sentencing recommendation. U.S. District Judge William Hodges evidently agreed.
