Comedian Carlos Mencia was arrested earlier this week on 12 felony charges for failing to report or pay taxes on over $8 million in earnings, according to California authorities. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the arrest at a news conference on Thursday, referring to Mencia as 'one of California’s biggest tax scofflaws.' Mencia reportedly owes more than $300,000 in state taxes on income totaling $8.7 million.
This case is among the first filed under Hochman’s newly established Business Tax Fraud Unit. Mencia was arrested at his home in Los Angeles and is being held on $250,000 bail. He faces six felony counts of failure to file personal income tax with intent to evade taxes for each year from 2019 to 2024, as well as six counts for corporate taxes.
If convicted, Mencia could face a maximum sentence of over 11 years in prison and would be required to pay the full tax amount owed, which could include interest that nearly doubles the total. Hochman noted that Mencia had previously paid taxes before 2019 and had received 78 notices from the state regarding unpaid taxes, to which he did not respond. The IRS has not provided the state with information regarding Mencia’s federal tax status. Mencia has not yet entered a plea in this case.