Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes was charged with dodging millions of dollars in taxes Tuesday in an indictment that could see the "Blade" star hit with a lengthy jail term.
Federal prosecutors in Tampa issued an eight-count indictment accusing Snipes and two Florida men, Eddie Kahn and Douglas Rosile, of conspiracy to defraud the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and submitting fake claims.
Snipes, 44, who is best known for the "Blade" trilogy of vampire movies and films such as "Jungle Fever" and "White Men Can't Jump", also faces six separate counts of failing to file income tax returns.
The conspiracy and false claim charges carry a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment each, while Snipes could receive up to a 12-month jail term for each count of failing to file tax returns, prosecutors said.
A warrant for Snipes' arrest has been issued but the actor's whereabouts were unclear. Snipes -- who once played a fugitive from justice in 1998 flick "US Marshalls" -- was not immediately available for comment.
"Our system of government depends on citizens paying their fair share of taxes," chief prosecutor Paul Perez said in a statement released by authorities in Tampa, Florida.
"Those who intentionally and unlawfully harass the IRS through deceit, trickery and fraud undermine the collection of revenue that is vital to every aspect of the operation of our government," he added.
Prosecutors allege Snipes, Kahn and Rosile, a former accountant who continued working despite being stripped of his license, conspired to make it look as if the actor had no liability for federal income taxes.
Kahn and Rosile promoted a fraudulent tax scheme known as the "861 argument", which asserts that US citizens and residents could be taxed only on income derived from overseas sources, prosecutors say.
The argument has been repeatedly rejected by courts, the prosecutors' statement said, and both Kahn and Rosile knew it was illegal.
Kahn and Rosile also prepared and filed two amended federal income tax returns for Snipes, fraudulently claiming refunds of 1996 and 1997 taxes previously paid, totalling almost 12 million dollars, the statement said.
The action hero first rose to fame in the 1980s when he was cast in the video for Michael Jackson's single "Bad".
That proved to be the springboard for a successful acting career characterised by his portrayal of tough-guy characters in movies such as "Demolition Man" and "New Jack City".
A martial arts fanatic, Snipes is famous for inserting quotations from Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" into his character's roles.
Later this year, the Bronx-bred Snipes was due to start work in South Africa on a historical action epic based on the life of Francois Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture, who led a successful slave rebellion in the 18th century that sparked the Haitian Revolution.