Wesley Snipes Surrenders

Wesley Snipes surrendered to authorities Friday on tax fraud charges, two months after he was indicted, said federal officials and a publicist for his new film.
Snipes, 44, was indicted in October on tax fraud charges that accuse the actor of trying to cheat the federal government out of nearly $12 million in false refund claims and not filing any returns for six years.

Prosecutors said Snipes fraudulently claimed refunds totaling nearly $12 million in 1996 and 1997 on income taxes already paid. The star of the “Blade�? trilogy and other hit films such as “Jungle Fever�? and “White Men Can’t Jump�? was also charged with failure to file returns from 1999 through 2004.

The lawyer for Snipes and the government were working on a deal for him to turn himself in, a federal prosecutor confirmed to E! Online last month

Snipes flew into his hometown of Orlando on a private jet and voluntarily turned himself in, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Tampa. Around 9:30 a.m. local time, the actor, sporting a shaved head, salt-and-pepper beard and a dark suit, was escorted by U.S. marshals and a prosecutor into federal court in Ocala for arraignment reports AP.

Snipes pleaded not guilty to all charges. Magistrate Gary Jones released the actor on $1 million bond and allowed him to return to Africa to finish Gallowwalker. Snipes was ordered back in court for another hearing on Jan. 10.
According to a publicist for Sheer Film, the company producing Gallowwalker, Snipes will fly back to Namibia later Friday.

The actor has said he is a scapegoat and was unfairly targeted by prosecutors. If convicted, he faces up to 16 years in prison.

"I know this has more to do with a few individuals with access to power, making moves (trying to move up!) and less with some alleged crime against the whole population of the United States of America. This reminds me of rape cases where the 'victim' is flipped, turned or converted into the role of victimizer, the 'architect conspirator,' " Snipes wrote.

"It appears I'm to be the scapegoat, because there's more public interest in 'celebrities gone bad' than 'rich people being taken advantage of.' "

According to a publicist for Sheer Film, the company producing Gallowwalker, Snipes will fly back to Namibia later Friday. Filmmakers expect shooting to wrap in the next week and the movie to be in theaters in fall 2007. it's one of three films Snipes has in the pipeline, according to IMDb.com.

By Fabien Montique posted time [ 3:12 PM]