Comedian Carlos Mencia was charged with felony state tax evasion charges on Thursday, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman confirmed.
In a press conference held by the District Attorney’s Office, Hochman shared that Mencia, known for his Comedy Central show “Mind of Mencia,” was hit with the tax evasion charges after allegedly failing to report $8.7 million in personal and corporate income taxes between tax years 2019-2024. The case marks the first for the newly established Business Tax Fraud Unit.
“Mr. Mencia has an income most people can only dream of, and like everyone else he is required to file his personal and corporate tax returns and pay his fair share,” Hochman said in a statement on Thursday. “Failing to report millions of dollars in income is a slap in the face to hardworking Californians who diligently file and pay their taxes every year because they care about their communities and the public goods, like police, fire, roads, and utilities, their tax dollars provide. Today we are sending a message to the tax scofflaws that it is no longer business as usual in Los Angeles County – the days of a free pass for failing to file returns and pay taxes are over.”
Mencia, also known as Ned Arnel Holness, was charged with 12 felony counts of tax evasion. Per the DA’s office, the charges include “six felony counts of failure to file personal income tax with the intent to evade tax and six felony counts of failure to file corporate income tax with the intent to evade tax.”
According to Hochman’s office, Mencia “is on the California Franchise Tax Board’s list of top 500 tax delinquencies in both the personal and corporate income categories,” noting that the CFT board allegedly sent the comedian 78 demand notices alerting him to the non-filed tax returns. It’s alleged that Mencia failed to report approximately $3.3 million in personal income, as well as approximately $5.4 million in corporate income for his company, Nedlos Entertainment, Inc., of which he’s the CEO and owner.
He also allegedly owes “over $300,000 in taxes to the state of California: approximately $267,594 in personal income taxes and approximately $35,117 in corporate income taxes,” according to the DA’s office.
If convicted, Mencia – who was arrested today and is reportedly still in custody – faces 11 years and four months in prison. Bail has been set for $250,000.
An arraignment has been scheduled for June 22. A representative for Mencia did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
