Jailbird

Wesley Snipes in Jail for Tax Evasion

Sentenced to three years.

Wesley Snipes will serve three years in jail after losing his appeal on a conviction of tax evasion. Snipes was first found guilty in 2008 of dodging more than $15 million in taxes on income earned during the peak of his career. His lawyers argued that Snipes’ tax advisers, who also received jail terms, had convinced him there were no laws binding him to pay tax and that the sentence was “unreasonable.” But the case was not enough to sway the court. Even a letter from Denzel Washington to the District Court judge who upheld it could not save Snipes. “Wesley is like a mighty oak tree,” Washington wrote, “Many who know him have witnessed the fruit of his labours. I have sat in his shade and even been protected by his presence.”