Wesley Snipes gets three years in prison

A judge in Florida has ruled that actor Wesley Snipes must spend the next three years in prison for his tax evasion charges.

The three year sentence for Wesley Snipes is the maximum for the tax evasion charge and many thought that the judge was going to throw the book at the “Blade” star to set an example.

Snipes had appeared very nonchalant in court and it was almost as if he was not taking the charges seriously.

While getting the three year sentence, it is most likely the celebrity will not serve the entire thing. What will hurt the actor is the $5 million fine that goes with the guilty sentencing.

Snipes was cleared of charges of tax fraud, but the conviction of failure to file taxes for the three years in question were too blatant for the jury to ignore.

The jury in the case found Snipes guilty in February for wrongfully failing to pay taxes for three years. The IRS claims Snipes owes the government over $2.7 million. Yeah, Uncle Sam doesn’t look too kindly on people skipping out on a $3 million tax tab!

After the IRS had taken hits for being too harsh on taxpayers in past years, the pendulum has began to swing the other way. Prosecutors have been pleading with judges to issue the stiffest possible sentences to make clear to the citizenry to pay their taxes.

There is nothing like sending a Hollywood movie star to the slammer for three years to make that point.