Snipes Sentenced for 3 Years

Wesley Snipes had been sentenced for three years in prison due to tax charges last Thursday, it was a victory for prosecutors who aimed to make an example of the action star who have been aggressively pursuing maximum penalty.

The lawyer of Snipes spent most of the day in court trying to give dozens of letters from family members, fellow actors and friends of the actor like Denzel Washington, Woody Harrelson that are all attesting to the good character of the actor and to allow leniency. They tried to argue in the letter that the actor should only get probation and that his three convictions had been all misdemeanors as well as they say that the actor does not have criminal records.

But it was District Judge William Terrell Hodge that told Snipes that he has exhibited a “history of contempt over a period of time” for US tax laws, that he allowed to the grant the prosecutors three years worth of sentence they have requested a year for each of Snipes convictions that have been intently filing a tax return.

Hodges said, “In my mind these are serious crimes, albeit misdemeanors,”

Snipes gave an apology for his costly mistakes but he never mentioned the word taxes in his statement.

Snipes said, “I am an idealistic, naive, passionate, truth-seeking, spiritually motivated artist, unschooled in the science of law and finance,”

Snipes also mentioned about his wealth and being a celebrity to, “wolves and jackals like flies are attracted to meat.” He also described himself to be, “well-intentioned, but miseducated.”

Snipes had been the highest profile that had criminal tax target in years, and the prosecutors have aimed to get him convicted to avoid others from trying to obstruct the IRS. The government had said that Snipes had made around $13.8 million for the year in question owing the government around $2.7 million in taxes.

Sniped had been acquitted in February with multiple additional charges including felony tax fraud and conspiracy. Snipes having other co defendants like Douglas P. Rosile and Eddie Ray Khan had been convicted on both those counts. Khan had refused to defend himself in court and had been sentenced to 10 years, while Rosile have received 54 months. Both would have served three years of supervised release, Snipes however will only receive a year of supervised release.

Rosile and Snipes up to this time remains free until they are notified by authorities for their surrender.

Khan had been a founder of American Rights Litigator and a successor group, Guiding Light of God Ministries, that had led members to legally avoid paying taxes. Rosile is a former accountant who had lost his licenses in Florida and Ohio who have prepared snipes paperwork.

It had been a year long battle between Snipes and the IRS that he did not have to pay taxes that entailed using arguments similar to that of the common tax protestors that the government does not have legal right to collect. After joining Khan’s group, the government claims that Snipes ordered his employees to keep themselves from paying their own taxes and looked out for $11 million in 1996 and 1997 taxes that he had legally paid.

Prosecutors had been able to maximize sentence by raising other details given by the IRS investigation, as well as the tax loss even for a couple of years when Snipes was acquitted from failing to file a return. It was said to be a “relevant conduct” is allowed by law for the judges to consider upon their sentencing.

There are very rare criminal tax prosecutors cases and they are usually handled in the civil court where the government has a lower burden of proof. Prosecutors said that Snipes was an important case to send out the kind of message to tax protestors to not dare test the government.

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