Wesley Snipes Sentenced to Three Years in Jail

Victory2004

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Wesley Snipes Sentenced to Three Years in Jail
By Siobhan Morrissey

Originally posted Thursday April 24, 2008 06:05 PM EDT
Wesley Snipes

The Blade star, 45, was sentenced Thursday to three years behind bars as his punishment for failing to file his tax returns, U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges announced in an Ocala, Fla., courtroom.

The actor sat stone-faced – and some people in the courtroom gasped – when the sentence was read. "I'm very sorry for my mistakes and errors. I apologize to my family, the court and the community," Snipes said as his wife looked on. "I've asked the court to show me mercy and the opportunity to make things right."

In February, a federal jury convicted Snipes of three counts of failing to file a tax return (from 1999 through 2001). Thursday he received 12 months for each count. Prosecutors say the actor owes a total of $41 million in taxes, of which he paid $5 at the sentencing.

Several famous names sent in letters of support for Snipes, including Denzel Washington, Woody Harrelson and TV judge Joe Brown. Washington called Snipes a "great oak." Harrelson, who starred with Snipes in Wildcats, wrote, "Wes continues to encourage and challenge me to be the best man I can be by being a constant friend."


Prosecutors Ask Maximum
In February, Snipes, an Orlando native, was acquitted on the more serious charges of conspiracy to defraud the government and filing a false claim for a $7 million refund – both felonies – as well as three similar counts of failure to file returns for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004.

The prosecution, seeking to make an example of Snipes, had requested the maximum: three years in prison and a fine of at least $5 million.

"The fact that Snipes was acquitted on two felony charges and convicted 'only' on three misdemeanor counts has been portrayed in the mainstream media as a 'victory' for Snipes," the government said in its sentencing recommendation. "The troubling implication of such coverage for the millions of average citizens who are aware of this case is that the rich and famous Wesley Snipes has 'gotten away with it.' In the end the criminal conduct of Snipes must not be seen in such a light."


Defense: Probation, Not Prison
The defense, on the other hand, sought probation rather than prison time. "Wesley Snipes is not a dangerous man who needs to be imprisoned to protect the public," Snipes' attorney said in his sentencing memo.

"He is contrite, promises that he will never again break the law, and respectfully asks the court to consider not just the jury verdict but also all the good that he has done in his life."

Snipes's side also claims the tax loss from 1999 through 2001 is only $227,959.

Whatever the sum, "The IRS will still try to collect the money. You can count on that," Victor Lessoff, who heads the Internal Revenue office in Tampa, tells PEOPLE.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20194986,00.html
 
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i thought everyone is supposed to be treated the same under the eyes of the law in the US constitution? all this making an example because its a celeb doesnt go with that . its more like prosecutors trying to make a name for themselves. well they got him good and proper. u get less for killing someone over here than what he got.
 
I think it sucks big time :(

It's just so sad for me to think of ppl going to jail, especially if they didnt harm anyone. It really really sucks :(
 
whats the rule with serving time anyway. over here u only serve half the sentence. so will he be out in 18 months?
 
i guess because they tried to stitch him up on conspiracy charges and have him facing 20 years (sound familiar) so when that didnt work they gave him the maxium possible for the other offences
 
i guess because they tried to stitch him up on conspiracy charges and have him facing 20 years (sound familiar) so when that didnt work they gave him the maxium possible for the other offences

What have we got Sneddon's cousin and his mates on this case. These people go crazy with their charges or what? hahahaha!
 
I think it sucks big time :(

It's just so sad for me to think of ppl going to jail, especially if they didnt harm anyone. It really really sucks :(
Me too. Tax law is unconstitutional in the US, I think this is what Wesley was protesting. He was making a political statement, but it was handled badly. I feel very upset and it brought tears too my eyes. I like wesley. They could have fined him heavily. They didn't have to put him in jail for that.
 
Wesley Snipes won't be getting a Nicole Richie special in the big house: TMZ has learned that Prisoner 57 -- or whatever number he gets -- will have to do two-and-a-half years hard time (out of the three he was sentenced to). And that's only if he's a really good prisoner.

Federal inmates can't get parole, so Wes will be in for at least 930 days.
 
Wesley Snipes won't be getting a Nicole Richie special in the big house: TMZ has learned that Prisoner 57 -- or whatever number he gets -- will have to do two-and-a-half years hard time (out of the three he was sentenced to). And that's only if he's a really good prisoner.

Federal inmates can't get parole, so Wes will be in for at least 930 days.

Brutal considering there was this woman who shot her husband in the back killing him in the state of Tennessee and was out of jail in 60 days.
 
it's interesting how liked celebrities always get sympathy. and with him being successful as he is, $40mil is quite a lot to steal from your community.

and yes, tax evasion is theft. you see many go to jail for benefit fraud and i don't hear sympathy or read their stories here. the difference between that and tax evasion is that the former is committed by the weakest and most vulnerable of society while dodging taxes is committed by the richest and the most powerful, and costs us tens of billions in illegally withheld revenue.
 
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how can he forget to pay his taxes for 3 years though?


and he can't point the finger at his finance adviserseither because he's in charge of them.
 
it's interesting how liked celebrities always get sympathy. and with him being successful as he is, $40mil is quite a lot to steal from your community.

and yes, tax evasion is theft. you see many go to jail for benefit fraud and i don't hear sympathy or read their stories here. the difference between that and tax evasion is that the former is committed by the weakest and most vulnerable of society while dodging taxes is committed by the richest and the most powerful, and costs us tens of billions in illegally withheld revenue.

I agree with your post I just think people are annoyed that Wesley is getting at least 2 and a half years hard time with the other 6 months on sure on supervised monitoring and yes he should have to pay back all that money but when you have murders and rapists getting less time then something is seriously wrong, Wesley didn't pay up MONEY nobody died or was emotionally scarred for life and that's the real injustice not that people are sympathizing with cheating the government.
 
No matter what people think about Wesley (I like the guy), the sentence that he will be facing is too harsh. The media are trashing this man like he was OJ. This man never hurt a soul and never treated people like trash. I talked with my twin about this and she told me that what Wesley is going through is karma. I said, "why say that?" She goes, "because what he said about Black women". I told her that his suppose comment had nothing to do with him not paying his taxes. I think, imo, and I do believe that everyone should pay for their taxes, file tax returns and do their tax return regardless, but the IRS are the true criminals. I do not like these people. I mean, I understand that taxes should be paid, but they go after people who haven't paid their taxes as if they were caught on camera killing someone. The IRS, imo, is a very questionable organization and I find it pathetic and crazy that Wesley might go to jail for three years just because he did not pay them. I also believe that if they could not falsely accuse Wesley on anything in order to stick, like the shitty pros. did to Michael, these people will get Wesley on some tax evasion nonsense and they did. I just find the whole thing, regardless of Wesley avoiding paying his taxes, very questionable.
 
how can he forget to pay his taxes for 3 years though?


and he can't point the finger at his finance adviserseither because he's in charge of them.
He was protesting against an unconstitutional tax law. There are many people in America that are fighting this law at the moment, unfortunately, he was one of them and he obviously had bad advice. He should have paid it while he protest it.
 
Income tax is theft alright, but not for Wesley. The Federal Reserve is a scam organization. The NWO just wanted to make an example of him.
 
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re: protest - what a greedy excuse to rip off money from the community - if he were to truly be protesting (which i very much doubt in the first place), then he would take it up with the IRS in the first place, not do a crime. imagine how people feel who are less well-off and have taxation risk their welfare but still pay them.

theft = punishment. is it harsh? probably but you can't let this crap get away easily.
 
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i thought everyone is supposed to be treated the same under the eyes of the law in the US constitution? all this making an example because its a celeb doesnt go with that . its more like prosecutors trying to make a name for themselves. well they got him good and proper. u get less for killing someone over here than what he got.

over here too. the government thinks money is more important than life itself.

dnagerous criminals are being released on the street early after committing murder. but snipes ain't goin nowhere, no matter how overcrowded the jails are.
 
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re: protest - what a greedy excuse to rip off money from the community - if he were to truly be protesting (which i very much doubt in the first place), then he would take it up with the IRS in the first place, not do a crime. imagine how people feel who are less well-off and have taxation risk their welfare but still pay them.

theft = punishment. is it harsh? probably but you can't let this crap get away easily.


That is the troubl though Arxter. the money doesn't go to the govt. It goes to the federal resevre which is owned by big businesses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dmPchuXIXQ

THE AMERICAN INCOME TAX IS FRAUDULENT. Please watch the video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBZne09Gf5A&feature=related
 
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Please watch the 2nd part of this video as it explains the illegality of the US tax system. This is what Wesley was protesting.
 
That is the troubl though Arxter. the money doesn't go to the govt. It goes to the federal resevre which is owned by big businesses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dmPchuXIXQ

THE AMERICAN INCOME TAX IS FRAUDULENT. Please watch the video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBZne09Gf5A&feature=related

well well well. i knew something was wrong..and it causes the nation to hate half it's presidents and love the other half, in a way that doesn't make sense...but i just didn't know what.

well..i'm not surprised.
 
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