Snipes accused of Tax Humbug
Wesley Trent Snipes, American actor, martial artist and film producer, best known for his role as the eponymous vampire hunter in the ‘Blade’ trilogy of movies, has been accused of tax fraud and conspiracy after a four year inquiry by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The indictment was unsealed yesterday.
Snipes, 44, is charged with allegedly trying to swindle the U.S. government of $12m (£6.4m) in taxes. If convicted, the film star faces up to 16 years in jail.
Federal prosecutors said that the whereabouts of the actor is unknown and since the officials were not able to locate him, they could not arrest him. Snipes, who starred in action-adventures, thrillers, comedies and dramatic feature films, and owns an independent production company, faces a total of eight charges.
"Those who promote or use fraudulent tax schemes are a threat to the financial integrity of our nation," said Michael Yasofsky, a special agent with the Inland Revenue Service.
A warrant was issued for Snipes arrest, alleging that he filed fraudulent claims for tax refunds. The actor claimed refunds in 1996 and 1997 on taxes already paid, and then failed to file returns from 1999 and 2004.
Douglas P. Rosile, Sr., an accountant was also charged with the allegations. He is accused of preparing certain amended returns filed by Snipes. In 2002, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa granted a ban against Rosile, prohibiting him from preparing or assisting in the preparation of Federal income tax returns for other people.
Rosile helped prepare frivolous tax returns for 174 clients in 34 states, involving at least $29 million USD in taxes.
It is known that the Florida born actor took the help of accountants who already had a history of filing false returns to obtain refund payments for their clients. Besides Snipes and Rosile, Eddie Ray Kahn, the founder of American Rights Litigators (ARL), was also indicted.
The indictment alleges that the three men tried "through dishonest means, to make it appear as if Mr Snipes had no liability for federal income taxes, when, in fact, Mr Snipes had such tax liabilities. As part of the scheme, the defendants allegedly prepared and filed two amended federal income tax returns for Mr Snipes, fraudulently claiming refunds of 1996 and 1997 income taxes previously paid, totalling almost $12m."
Paul Perez, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, informed that Rosile has surrendered himself and Kahn is currently not in the country.
Paul Perez said: "Our system of government depends on citizens paying their fair share of taxes.
"Those who intentionally and unlawfully harass the IRS through deceit, trickery and fraud undermine the collection of revenue that is vital to every aspect of the operation of our government, including defence, the war on terror, health care, law enforcement and education."
Perez also added that if Snipes was not aware of the fact that IRS wanted to speak to him, he will soon come to know. "We've spoken to his former attorneys over the weekend. We presume that he knows, and of course after this press conference he will definitely know," he said.
Being no alien to fraud, Snipes has been previously charged with dupery. In 2005, Snipes was detained at Johannesburg International Airport for allegedly trying to pass through the airport with a fake South African passport.
It was later known in an interview that Snipes had fake South African documents in his possession. After cooperating with the South African Inspectorate of the National Immigration Branch in their investigation, Snipes was allowed to return home since he had a valid U.S. passport. But the South African authorities reduced his immigration status to undesirable as a result of the incident. To date, no explanation has been offered as to exactly why Snipes entered South Africa on forged papers.
