Blade actor Wesley Snipes was acquitted by a Florida jury of federal tax fraud and conspiracy charges, but was slapped him on the wrist for failing to file tax returns for 3 years between 1999-2004.
Snipes could actually be facing up to thee years in prison for that second dastardly (but misdemeanor) act.
In a letter sent to the IRS after his indictment in 2006, Snipes declared himself "a nonresident alien" of the United States and claimed the IRS seeks to "terrorize, enslave, rape or pillage" taxpayers, according to a report in the Ocala Star-Banner newspaper.
The Internal Revenue Service alleges that Snipes and two co-defendants -- Eddie Ray Kahn and Douglas P. Rosile - engaged them in a long fight insisting Snipes didn't owe any taxes.
Snipes' lawyers say the action star was a victim of bad financial advice, and truly believed he didn't have to pay the government anything.
Kahn founded the central Florida tax protest group American Rights Litigators and its successor, Guiding Light of God Ministries. He has been using tax scams since at least the early 1980s, according to government documents, and refused to defend himself in court against these charges.
Rosile, a CPA who lost his licenses in Florida and Ohio, allegedly prepared the fraudulent documents for Snipes, along with numerous other Kahn clients.
The actor is still liable for millions in back taxes, which the government may try to collect in civil court.
"Mr. Snipes has always been committed to doing the right thing, nd after this trial is over he'll make whatever amends are equired. This is a man of integrity," E!online quoted his attorney Robert Bernhoft as saying following the verdict.
