Wesley Snipes’ long, arduous ordeal with Uncle Sam ends today when he reports to a Pennsylvania prison to begin serving a 3-year sentence for failing to file tax returns. Snipes, 48, was acquitted of tax evasion and fraud, charges that would have sent him to prison for many years.
He has until noon today to turn himself in to the McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Lewis Run, PA.
Snipes, who is best known for his roles in the “Blade” action films, appeared on CNN’s “Larry King Live” on Tuesday, where he claimed he was unfairly singled out by prosecutors.
“It does seem to be rather unusual and rather bizarre when you had a prosecutor come into the sentencing and say that this is the biggest tax trial in the history of the IRS,” Snipes said. “I think there is a certain amount of selectivity going on here.”
One juror, Frank Tuttle, gave “Larry King Live” a written statement that three other jurors had made up their minds that Snipes was guilty before the trial began. [1]
The juror said they “compromised” with those jurors by not convicting Snipes on the more serious tax evasion charges. “We did not think he would go to jail,” Tuttle said, suggesting that Snipes received favorable treatment because of his celebrity status.
Snipes, who was sentenced in 2008, blamed his legal problems on Eddie Ray Kahn (pictured right with Snipes). Khan is a cult leader tax expert who advised Snipes and 4,000 other “clients” how to avoid paying their taxes.
Khan operated the Guiding Light of God Ministries out of a 2nd floor office in downtown Mount Dora, Florida. [2]
Snipes and his family were members of the ministry.
The main purpose of the ministry, aka American Rights Litigators, was to help rich people evade paying taxes. Khan had Snipes and others apply to become one-person, religious organizations so they would benefit from tax-exempt status.
Khan was sentenced to 20 years behind bars as Snipes’ co-defendant in the 2008 trial. By comparison, Snipes got off easy.
At the time, Snipes believed wholeheartedly in Khan’s teachings. Snipes claimed that as a “fiduciary of God, who is a ‘nontaxpayer,’” he was a “‘foreign diplomat’” who was not obligated to pay taxes.
Of course, now he’s singing a different tune.
Snipes earned $37 million between 1999 and 2004. A goodly portion of his income went to Khan’s ministry.
