Comedian Carlos Mencia has been charged with tax evasion and failing to report $8.7 million in income. Mencia was arrested Thursday and remains in custody.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced the felony state tax evasion charges. It is the first case filed by the DA’s newly established Business Tax Fraud Unit.
According to the complaint, Mencia allegedly failed to file any taxes for tax years 2019-2024.
“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. “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, aka Ned Arnel Holness, was charged with 12 felony counts of tax evasion: 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.
