Carlos Mencia was charged with tax evasion after Los Angeles prosecutors said he failed to pay taxes from 2019 to 2024.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office on Thursday filed 12 felony charges against Mencia for underreporting $8.7 million in personal and business income, which translates to nearly $300,000 in state taxes.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Mencia, whose real name is Ned Arnell Holness, was arrested earlier this morning at his home in Encino. He faces a maximum penalty of more than ten years in prison, plus civil penalties and interest on taxes he didn’t pay that would nearly double the amount he owes. Bail was set at $250,000, and he is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.
Of the $8.7 million that Mencia did not report, $5.4 million came from Nedlos Entertainment, a production and management company owned by the comedian, according to prosecutors.
The California Franchise Tax Board sent Mencia more than 78 notices that he failed to file his returns, Hochman said. Failed to respond.
It is still unknown whether Mencia has paid federal taxes.
The charges against Mencia are the first brought by the Business Tax Fraud Unit. Hochman said he created the group because of the federal government’s reluctance to pursue such cases.
“We used to have a very active tax division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office across the street,” Hochman said. “We’re not. The old unit I came from, the Tax Division of the US Department of Justice, is no longer on the criminal side.”
He added: “The volume of tax violations amounts to millions and millions and millions of dollars every year.”
