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WESLEY SNIPES WORKS OUT IRS PAYMENT PLAN: Actor agrees to put money on debt and surrender upon return from Namibia.
*While shooting a film in Namibia, actor Wesley Snipes has apparently been busy on his down time working out a settlement with the U.S. government that will keep him out of prison on tax fraud charges.
According to Variety, the actor will surrender to federal authorities when he returns to the U.S. next month. In return, he will receive no jail time and will be allowed to pay off his debt with a payment plan. The agreement also allows for Snipes both to continue working and to travel abroad.
The feds had issued a warrant for Snipes’ arrest after the actor was indicted on eight counts of tax fraud. According to the Oct. 17 indictment, Snipes used the tax packages of two men he was indicted with to unsuccessfully claim nearly $12 million in refunds for taxes he paid in 1996 and 1997. Snipes had his taxes prepared by accountants with a history of filing false returns to reap payments for their clients, reports said.
Snipes, meanwhile, remains on the Namibia set of "Gallowwalker," a horror film from director Andrew Goth.
"We are happy that he continues to turn up on set each day. If his indictment creates this amount of press it shows he is a star," said Gary Smith, CEO of the film’s financier.
Production is slated to begin in Thailand in mid-January on his next film, "Chasing the Dragon," in which Snipes plays an FBI agent in Asia on the tail of a drug lord.
"We are thrilled that he may have settled. If he owes money it makes no sense to lock him up," said a source close to "Dragon."
AFRICAN VOICES CINEMA SERIES debuts
at AFI FEST 2006 presented by Audi. The
American Film Institute (AFI) debuts African
Voices Cinema Series at this year's AFI
FEST, November 1-12, 2006. African
Voices provides an international platform
for African directors, writers, and producers,
who communicate the culture, politics,
and the vision of a people through film.
Learn MORE at: http://www.hort.net/+13KO
