At 4:05 p.m. Friday, actor Wesley Snipes was convicted on three misdemeanor counts of failing to file his federal taxes but found not guilty of two felony and three other misdemeanor charges.
NOT GUILTY ON FELONY CHARGES!
As I’ve said in numerous blogs, Wesley drank the koolaid and the jury must have seen that as well. He wasn’t by his choices a – convicted felon. However, the convictions carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
DOUBT HE’LL BE SENTENCED TO PRISON!
Snipes was charged with six misdemeanor counts of willfully failing to file federal income tax returns. He was found guilty only on three of those counts.
Kahn, who continued to sit out the trial in the Marion County Jail, and Rosile both were convicted on the more serious felony charges.
Snipes was waited in the courtroom after the verdict was read by Senior U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges. One of his lawyers went to finalize up a new bail bond for him. Hodges reduced Snipes’ bail from $1 million to $250,000.
Considering that Kahn was convicted of more serious charges…it appears that Kahn may be out of business in helping unsuspecting avoid their tax liabilities.
Comments?
Motivational Speaker - Chuck Gallagher Business Ethics and Choices Expert 
Just another sign of the ‘cult of celebrity’ taking this country down the tubes. Superstar athlete? Murder? No problem! Famous Actor? Fraud? No Problem! It is just amazing, but if you have the cash you can get away with anything…just as Johnny Cochran said-“The only color the legal system sees is green.” I suppose you can’t be very surprised about this when so many people look to Brad and Angelina for geo-political advice or Laurie David/Rosie O’Donell etc. for factual news. If you wonder why the American Dream is fading, ‘we have found the enemy, and he is us’.
You don’t have to pay income tax!!!!! How can they convict him on charges if there is NO crime?? Judge & jury should be deported or hung for illegal use of power.
Christopher…what planet did you come from. You don’t have to pay income tax? Bullxxxt. Too many people feel that somehow taxes are not required. They are. But, to prove the point I would suggest that, if you are earning money, you try not filing and not paying. Prove it! My guess, you don’t have the guts to stand behind your belief. If you do…at some point you’ll wind up in federal prison. Remember, Snipes has not been sentenced yet. Wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t spend some time in jail…just to make the point.
In the highest-profile tax-protest trial in years, Wesley Snipes was acquitted late last week by a federal jury on felony charges of tax fraud and conspiracy.
However, Snipes is not quite scot-free: The jury found Snipes guilty of three out of six misdemeanor charges of failing to file tax returns, and he faces up to three years in prison as well as a likely court order to pay millions in owed back taxes.
Snipes faced trial in Ocala, Fla., on charges stemming from the IRS’s allegation that he failed to pay income taxes on $38 million in income he made between 1999 and 2004. The 45-year-old actor was also accused of fraudulently filing for an $11 million refund on income taxes he paid in 1996 and 1997.
In Snipes’ defense, attorneys Robert Bernhoft and Robert Barnes argued that their client was genuinely persuaded that he was not obligated to pay taxes by tax protestor Eddie Ray Kahn and former Florida CPA Douglas Rosile, both co-defendants in the case.
Amazing that he remains free while appealing his case.