Source: Fox News
(AP) - “Blade” star Wesley Snipes surrendered to authorities to face federal tax fraud charges and was released on $1 million bond Friday, two months after he was indicted in central Florida.
The actor didn’t speak at a court appearance in Ocala. He went there after arriving in Orlando on a private jet Friday from the African nation of Namibia, where he has been filming “Gallow Walker,” his publicist said.
He will be allowed to return to Namibia to finish his film, but must return to his home in Marina del Rey, Calif., on or before Jan. 10, U.S. Magistrate Gary Jones ruled.
After that, he will be required to surrender his U.S. passport and will be restricted to traveling in the continental United States. A Feb. 22 status conference was scheduled, which Snipes is not required to attend.
Snipes, star of the “Blade” trilogy, “Jungle Fever” and “White Men Can’t Jump,” was charged in October with fraudulently claiming refunds totaling nearly $12 million in 1996 and 1997 on income taxes already paid. The actor was also charged with failure to file returns from 1999 through 2004.
According to the indictment, Snipes had his taxes prepared by accountants with a history of filing false returns to reap payments for their clients. The firm, American Rights Litigators, would receive 20 percent of refunds from clients, according to the indictment.
The 44-year-old actor has said he is a scapegoat and was unfairly targeted by prosecutors. If convicted, he faces up to 16 years in prison.
The tax-fraud investigation that led to the indictment of the “Blade” star began with a raid four years ago in Pennsylvania, an IRS agent testified Wednesday.
Special Agent James Morris, speaking in court, said agents found documents in a man’s home in 2002 that led to a nationwide investigation into fraudulent trust funds. Snipes owned one of those trusts, another witness said.
The testimony came in the trial of Arthur Farnsworth, who is accused of tax evasion.
When agents searched Farnsworth’s home near Sellersville, they found documents suggesting Farnsworth owned several bogus trusts, Morris said. Among them was one designed to hide money and assets to avoid payment of federal income taxes.
Snipes owned a similar trust, according to testimony by Wayne Rebuck, a former director at the company that sold the trusts. Rebuck said he pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count in return for his testimony against Farnsworth.
“Gallow Walker,” a cowboy movie, will be completed next week and will be released sometime next fall, said Ian Thompson, spokesman for Sheer Films, which is producing the film. Snipes’ arrest wasn’t expected to delay production, Thompson said.
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