Celebrity tax troubles, high-profile scandals, and what the ultra-wealthy get away with — or don’t — when it comes to taxes.
“Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis feels he finally got a break when a federal judge okayed a deal that Francis struck with prosecutors. Under the agreement, Francis was credited with 301 days already served and sentenced to one year of probation. The plea deal was struck after Francis learned that a key witness, Francis’…
Jeffrey Chernick, a toy salesman out of New York, was sentenced on Friday to three months in prison for hiding millions of dollars from the IRS. Upon his release, Chernick will serve six months’ house arrest and six months’ probation. The judge did not impose an additional fine as Chernick is already subject to more…
Rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man was arrested Monday on tax evasion charges stemming from an alleged refusal to pay personal income taxes. Method Man, whose real name is Clifford Smith, has reportedly failed to pay taxes from 2004 to 2007. His tax bill for the period was just $32,799 plus penalties and interest….
Richard Hatch is not having a good year. After qualifying for early release from federal prison, where he was serving time on tax evasion charges, he was allowed to spend the remainder of his sentence at his sister’s house as house arrest. Hatch, not necessarily being the most conventional guy, apparently had a different interpretation…
“Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis has agreed to a plea arrangement that will significantly reduce his outstanding tax liability and keep him out of jail (for a bit – I’m making no promises about what he’ll do next). Francis has agreed to plead guilty to two counts of filing false tax returns and one…
Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. didn’t quite walk away from his bout with Juan Manuel Marquez with all that he had hoped for… That $10 million prize money was chopped in half after he agreed to pay $5.6 million in back taxes to the IRS. The agreement put the breaks on a potential levy on Mayweather’s…
Diego Maradona, formerly referred to by legions of football fans as “the Golden One”, lost more than weight when he checked into a weight loss clinic at the Hotel Palace health spa in Merano, Italy. The 48-year-old former football (yeah, that’s soccer to my US readers) standout checked into the spa in an attempt to…
Or least his people did. Rapper Ludacris, whose real name is Christopher Brian Bridges, made 20 families who needed a hand up pretty happy this week. He partnered with Nissan South, a car dealership in Atlanta, to give away 20 cars to folks in need as part of his own stimulus package. The giveaway worked…
I feel like I should send Richard Hatch a fruit basket or something for making it so easy to find things to blog about… As you know, Richard Hatch has been serving time for tax evasion for, among other things, not paying the tax on his “Survivor” winnings. He requested and was granted house arrest…
Rumors are swirling around the possibility of manslaughter charges may be filed in the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson. Jackson’s personal doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray, is considered a “person of interest” in the case but has not been charged. Raids at Dr. Murray’s office and storage unit in Houston on Wednesday raised eyebrows. Among…