Wesley Snipes Arrested on Tax Fraud Charges
Actor Wesley Snipes was arrested Friday in Florida on charges of tax fraud, Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa, Fla., said.
Snipes, 44, had been filming a movie in Namibia despite the warrant for his arrest, which was issued in October. He is charged with fraudulently claiming nearly $12 million in tax refunds and failing to file returns from 1999 through 2004.
The actor flew into the Orlando International Airport and voluntarily surrendered, Cole said. He was due to appear in court at 10:30 a.m. on Ocala, Fla.
Snipes had been filming the movie Gallowwalker in Africa. In October, the film’s producer, Joanne Reay, told the Associated Press filming was scheduled to run until the third week of December.
If found guilty on the tax-fraud charges, Snipes could face up to 16 years in prison.