Wesley Snipes’ defense rests case in tax trial

OCALA, Fla. — The defense in the tax fraud and conspiracy trial of Wesley Snipes rested Monday.

Snipes, Eddie Ray Kahn and Douglas P. Rosile were named in an eight-count indictment. Snipes and the co-defendants allegedly stopped filing his federal tax returns in 2000, demanded some $11 million in refunds on taxes previously paid and tried to settle other U.S. Treasury debts with fake checks.

All three were charged tax fraud and conspiracy, while Snipes faced six additional charges of willful failure to file a return from 1999 to 2004. The 45-year-old actor, star of the “Blade” films, faces a potential sentence of 16 years in prison, while Kahn and Rosile could get 10. However, sentences that long are extremely rare in these cases.

Snipes’ attorneys said he was the victim of unscrupulous accountants and sincerely believed he didn’t have to pay taxes.

Associated Press