Hollywood actor, Wesley Snipes, who appeared in movies such as the Blade trilogy and Demolition Man, has been sentenced to three years in prison for tax offences.
Snipes, found guilty of failing to file tax returns in 1999, 2000 and 2001, has consequently been sentenced to one year in prison for each of his offences. Though Snipes' lawyers had hoped for probation as opposed to a jail sentence, United States District Judge William Terrell Hodges said "In my mind these are serious crimes, albeit misdemeanours".
Before being sentenced, Snipes had apologised to the court and described himself as "an idealistic, naive, passionate, truth-seeking, spiritually motivated artist, unschooled in the science of law and finance".
Perhaps further enforcing his naivety, Snipes offered three cheques amounting to £2.5m as a gesture of good will. The star has not yet been remanded into custody and his lawyers are expected to appeal against the sentence.
