Wesley Snipes had his appeal denied on Friday by a federal judge, who ordered that the actor should begin serving a three-year prison sentence, according to Reuters.
U.S. District Judge William T. Hodges said that “Snipes had a fair trial ... The time has come for the judgment to be enforced,” according to the news agency.
Snipes, 48, was convicted in 2008 for evading more than $20 million in taxes and appealed the ruling. He was convicted on three counts of tax evasion and was acquitted on five more counts.
The Blade star was convicted for not filing tax returns between 1999 and 2004, when some of his most commercially successful movies were released.
“He has had a full, fair, and thorough review of his conviction and sentence by the Court of Appeals; and he has had a full, fair, and thorough review of his present claims, during all of which he has remained at liberty,” Hodges said, according to Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).
Snipes’s attorney Daniel Meachum told the Orlando Sentinel in an email that the ruling is “just shocking” and his client “is very disappointed but staying strong and positive.”
Snipes is best known for his roles in action movies like The Blade Trilogy, Demolition Man, Passenger 57, and U.S. Marshalls. He also appeared in other films like White Men Can’t Jump and Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever.
Reuters reported that it is unclear when or where Snipes will start serving his term.
Discussing the case earlier this year, Snipes told the Washington Post: “Yeah, but that’s life, you know? You walk out in the street, you don’t know if you’re going to get hit by a car. So you’re just keeping moving, you’re keeping moving.”
U.S. District Judge William T. Hodges said that “Snipes had a fair trial ... The time has come for the judgment to be enforced,” according to the news agency.
Snipes, 48, was convicted in 2008 for evading more than $20 million in taxes and appealed the ruling. He was convicted on three counts of tax evasion and was acquitted on five more counts.
The Blade star was convicted for not filing tax returns between 1999 and 2004, when some of his most commercially successful movies were released.
“He has had a full, fair, and thorough review of his conviction and sentence by the Court of Appeals; and he has had a full, fair, and thorough review of his present claims, during all of which he has remained at liberty,” Hodges said, according to Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).
Snipes’s attorney Daniel Meachum told the Orlando Sentinel in an email that the ruling is “just shocking” and his client “is very disappointed but staying strong and positive.”
Snipes is best known for his roles in action movies like The Blade Trilogy, Demolition Man, Passenger 57, and U.S. Marshalls. He also appeared in other films like White Men Can’t Jump and Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever.
Reuters reported that it is unclear when or where Snipes will start serving his term.
Discussing the case earlier this year, Snipes told the Washington Post: “Yeah, but that’s life, you know? You walk out in the street, you don’t know if you’re going to get hit by a car. So you’re just keeping moving, you’re keeping moving.”
