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Snipes Sentenced
Wesley Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison on tax charges, a victory for prosecutors who sought to make an example of him by aggressively pursuing the maximum penalty.Snipes was found guilty in February of willfully failing to file taxes for
three years, in which the government said he owed $2.7 million.Snipes' lawyers had spent much of the day in court offering dozens of letters from family members and friends attesting to his good character and asking for leniency.They argued he should get only probation because his three convictions were all misdemeanors and Snipes had no previous criminal record.But U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges said Snipes exhibited a "history of contempt over a period of time" for U.S. tax laws, and granted prosecutors the three year sentence they requested, one year for each of Snipes' convictions of willfully failing to file a tax return."In my mind these are serious crimes, albeit misdemeanors," Hodges said.Snipes apologized while reading from a written statement for his "costly mistakes.""I am an idealistic, naive, passionate, truth-seeking, spiritually motivated artist, unschooled in the science of law and finance," Snipes said.Snipes said his wealth and celebrity attracted "wolves and jackals like flies are attracted to meat." He called himself "well-intentioned, but miseducated."The government alleged Snipes made at least $13.8 million for the years in question and owed $2.7 million in back taxes.
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