By Stone Martindale Nov 2, 2006, 22:06 GMT
E! Online reports that actor Wesley Snipes, currently out of reach from the Feds and conveniently working in Africa, has reported the government is trying to work with Snipes' lawyers on a deal in the actor's multimillion-dollar tax fraud case.
Wesley Snipes in New York, March 20, 2006. The star of the 'Blade' movie series was charged with tax fraud on Tuesday in an indictment that alleges he illegally claimed refunds of almost $12 million. REUTERS/Keith Bedford
"We have been in contact with his representatives and are making progress as far as getting him to return to U.S to face criminal charges," Steve Cole, of U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa, where the indictment was filed. "No timetable has been set."
Snipes is in Namibia filming Gallowwalker, directed by Andrew Goth. The African nation does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, and so far no attempts to extradite Snipes have been made.
Cole said his office was "not confirming or denying" a report in Thursday's Daily Variety that Snipes had reached a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service that would keep him a free man.
Snipes allegedly will surrender to authorities when he returns to the States in December but won't be locked up, reports Variety. The report claims that the actor has agreed to make good on millions of dollars in back taxes; in exchange, federal prosecutors purportedly have agreed to allow him to continue working to erase his debt.
Snipes was indicted Oct. 17th for allegedly scamming the IRS out of $12 million in fraudulent refunds from 1996 to 1997. Additionally, the actor was accused of not filing any returns from 1999 to 2004.
Prosecutors say Snipes conspired with allegeded flim flammer Eddie Ray Kahn and accountant Douglas Rosile, to swindle the government using a discredited scheme known as the 861 Argument.
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