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Wesley Snipes arrested on IRS charges

Early Edition: The actor entered pleas of not guilty in Ocala today on charges of trying to defraud the government of more than $11-million in income taxes.

By CARRIE WEIMAR and JIM ROSS
Published December 8, 2006

OCALA -- Actor Wesley Snipes entered pleas of not guilty in Ocala today on charges of trying to defraud the government of more than $11-million in income taxes.

In a brief interview with reporters outside the Ocala federal courthouse, Snipes proclaimed his innocence. "I look forward to clearing my name ... posthaste."

Remarking on the chilly weather, Snipes said it was a "big difference from Namibia." 

Snipes' lawyer, Billy Martin, said his client was the "victim of unscruplous tax advice."
 
As Snipes spoke, a crowd gathered to gawk at the famous movie star. "Wesley, you my dog!" yelled one young woman.

The star of such movies as White Men Can’t Jump and Blade, just back from the African nation of Namibia, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Jones wearing a dark suit with his hands cuffed in front of him.

The judge agreed to release Snipes based on terms agreed to by prosecutors and defense attorneys:

He will post a $1-million bond and be allowed to return to Namibia where he is filming a futuristic Western trilogy called Gallow Walker. He must return to the United States by Jan. 10, at which time he will surrender his passport to authorities. He must live with his wife in Marina del Rey, Calif.

Snipes and his attorneys appeared in court after a two-day trip from Namibia, with a stop last night in the Bahamas. His attorneys asked that he be allowed to complete filming in Namibia because of the economic importance of his movie to that young nation, which is trying to carve a niche in the film industry.

Snipes’ attorneys disputed reports that the actor was trying to elude authorities on the charges, which were handed up in October, by staying in Namibia. They said he had offered to turn himself in to authorities there if the U.S. government wanted, but that prosecutors and defense attorneys negotiated his return to Florida to appear in court today.

Snipes, 44, was indicted with two other men: Eddie Ray Kahn, 63, a tax protest group leader from Sorrento, and Douglas P. Rosile, 58, an unlicensed accountant from Venice. All three are accused of conspiracy to defraud the IRS and presenting a false claim for payment to the agency.

Officials said the men helped Snipes, who was earning $5-million to $8-million per film in the mid-1990s, file amended tax returns for 1996 and 1997. They said he didn’t actually owe taxes and was due refunds of $4-million and $7.3-million.
Snipes is also accused of failing to file his income tax returns for several years.

Snipes flew into an Orlando airport on a private jet Friday morning to turn himself in, said Ian Thompson, a spokesman for Sheer Films, which is producing Snipes' movie "Gallow Walker."

After his appearance in federal court in Ocala, Snipes planned to fly back to Africa to finish the film, Thompson said from his London office.

Snipes was indicted in October of trying to defraud the government of more than $11-million in taxes. Officials say he wrongly demanded a refund of some taxes and failed to file tax returns for several years. He was filming a movie after his indictment and was finally taken into custody Friday.

-- Includes reporting from the Associated Press. 

[Last modified December 8, 2006, 13:08:24]