ORLANDO, Fla. - Wesley Snipes failed to file tax returns on $37.9 million in income from 1999 to 2004, even after the Internal Revenue Service told him in 2002 that he was under criminal investigation, federal prosecutors in Florida said yesterday.
The tax fraud occurred during a time when the actor was inking deals worth more than $10 million for "Blade II" and other movies.
Snipes, 45, also repeatedly tried during that time to get fraudulent refunds totaling $11.3 million for taxes he paid in 1996 and 1997, prosecutors said.
On three occasions, Snipes sent the U.S. Treasury what prosecutors called a "fictitious bill of exchange" totaling $14 million along with IRS payment vouchers, and at other times sent notices and a letter challenging the IRS' authority to criminally investigate.
In response, the IRS warned Snipes that his refund claims were frivolous.
The actor's tax fraud trial is set to begin on Monday in the U.S. District Court in Ocala, Florida, where prosecutors say Snipes lived at the time of the suspected fraud.
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