Hollywood star Wesley Snipes has failed in a third court motion to have his tax evasion trial moved out of Ocala, Fla. The award winning actor is due to stand trial on charges he fraudulently claimed tax refunds of almost $12 million in 1996 and 1997. He is also accused of failing to file tax returns from 1999 to 2004. Snipes' lawyers last month argued he cannot get a fair trial in the city of Ocala due to racial prejudices and that he has the right to a trial in New York City, where he was living when the alleged offenses occurred. But the request was declined by the court. The star filed a motion at a federal appeals court in Atlanta, Ga., claiming the decision was erroneous. But the motion was denied by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday. The court also granted a federal prosecutors' motion to dismiss a defense request seeking to move the trial out of Ocala, about 80 miles north of Orlando Fla.
Hollywood star Wesley Snipes has failed in a third court motion to have his tax evasion trial moved out of Ocala, Fla. The award winning actor is due to stand trial on charges he fraudulently claimed tax refunds of almost $12 million in 1996 and 1997. He is also accused of failing to file tax returns from 1999 to 2004. Snipes' lawyers last month argued he cannot get a fair trial in the city of Ocala due to racial prejudices and that he has the right to a trial in New York City, where he was living when the alleged offenses occurred. But the request was declined by the court. The star filed a motion at a federal appeals court in Atlanta, Ga., claiming the decision was erroneous. But the motion was denied by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday. The court also granted a federal prosecutors' motion to dismiss a defense request seeking to move the trial out of Ocala, about 80 miles north of Orlando Fla.
