WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) -- Actor Wesley Snipes claimed U.S. prosecutors used race as a factor when determining whether to charge him with failure to file tax returns for six years.
In a motion to dismiss an eight-count indictment handed down last year, Snipes argued he is the victim of selective prosecution, The Smoking Gun reported Thursday. Snipes said his two white co-defendants, Douglas Rosile and Eddie Kahn, weren't charged with failure to file tax returns, even though investigators are aware Kahn hadn't file returns for six years and the possibility existed that Rosile did not file a return for two years.
The three were accused of attempting to defraud the government by claiming the actor was immune to taxation based on a section of the tax code, a claim rejected by IRS officials.
Snipes also said he received "unscrupulous tax advice" from the other defendants, and was considering a lawsuit against Rosile and Kahn.
The trial could begin later this year.
