Action actor Wesley Snipes has been sentenced to three years in prison by a federal judge this afternoon.
In February, the Blade movie star was found guilty of failing to file tax returns from 1999-2001. The actor owed 2.7 Million and was given the maximum sentence under the law.
Snipes’ lawyers tried to argue for leniency and claimed that the star only owed $4000,000 and that the government’s sentencing guidelines weren’t fair.
Although Snipes was acquitted on the felony charges of filing false claims and fraud, the prosecutors pushed to harshly punish Snipes in the misguided hope that such a high-profile case would discourage tax fraud in the future.
Snipes’ co-defendant, who I am assuming are his accountants, were convicted of felony fraud and conspiracy and were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
