LOS ANGELES (AP) — Comedian Carlos Mencia was arrested Thursday and charged with 12 felony charges for failing to report or pay taxes on more than $8 million in earnings, prosecutors said.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the charges at a news conference where he called Mencia “one of California’s biggest tax scofflaws.”
The 58-year-old stand-up comic was charged with six felony counts of failure to file personal income tax with the intent to evade taxes — one each for the years 2019 to 2024 — and six similar counts for corporate taxes.
Mencia owes more than $300,000 in state taxes on income totaling $8.7 million, Hochman said.
He has not entered a plea, and emails sent to his attorney seeking comment was not immediately answered.
Mencia was arrested at his Los Angeles home at about 7 a.m., authorities said. He remained in custody Thursday afternoon and was being held on $250,000 bail. He is expected to make his first court appearance on Monday. If he’s convicted of all counts he could get more than 11 years in prison, along with paying the tax bills and interest that will almost double the total.
The charges are the first filed under the new district attorney's new Business Tax Fraud Unit that was established in May by Hochman, a former longtime prosecutor of tax cases.
Mencia regularly paid taxes before 2019, Hochman said. He was sent 78 notices from the state about his delinquent bills, with no response. The charges deal only with state taxes. Hochman said the IRS has not informed his office of Mencia's federal tax status.
Born Ned Arnel Holness in Honduras and raised in East Los Angeles, Mencia began doing stand-up in LA clubs in the late 1980s. By the early 2000s, he became one of the most popular comics in the U.S. and also did some acting in film and television. He had his own TV series, “Mind of Mencia,” combining stand-up with sketches on Comedy Central from 2005 to 2008.
Hochman pointed out at the news conference that on the show in 2007, Mencia said, “Maybe I'm different, but I think taxes are a good thing.”
His comedy most often dealt with race, class and Latino culture. His career took a downward turn as he was hit with accusations from many fellow comedians of joke theft, which he always denied, from other comics. Joe Rogan, then best known as a stand-up comic, confronted him on a club stage on the issue in a video that went viral in 2007. Mencia had long discussions on Marc Maron's podcast on the alleged plagiarism, acknowledging that he may have absorbed others' material but denying outright theft.
He still does regular stand-up shows, touring clubs and small theaters. He's scheduled to do a series of dates in Southern California this week and Las Vegas next week.
FILE - Actor and comedian Carlos Mencia arrives at the 23rd Annual Imagen Awards, Aug. 21, 2008, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas, File)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The administration of Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González is mired in a new political crisis, with allegations of public corruption, government interference and conflicts of interest.
González's chief of staff Francisco Domenech is the latest to be ensnared in a high-profile investigation, following the resignation last month of Puerto Rico’s economic development chief Sebastián Negrón, who accused the administration of interfering with the agency's work. More than 10 other officials — including the chief of staff, general counsel and finance chief — also resigned from the agency as it tries to lure new investors to an island struggling with chronic power outages and other issues.
Domenech, who maintains a high profile in his role, also serves as executive director of Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority.
On Wednesday, Domenech submitted sworn statements against Negrón to Puerto Rico’s Department of Justice and its Office of Government Ethics, alleging corruption and conflicts of interest. On Thursday, he justified his actions in an interview with WIPR, a government TV station.
Domenech said he only took action this week because it took time to compile what he says is evidence against Negrón, whom the governor has described as “a star” as she lamented his resignation in late May.
The allegations against Domenech, which are being investigated by an independent state agency, have caught the attention of U.S. Congress, with federal lawmakers questioning the governor about them on Wednesday. She said the allegations are false.
Meanwhile, Puerto Rico Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, a member of the governor’s pro-statehood party, called Wednesday for Domenech’s resignation. On Thursday, Rivera Schatz offered legislative immunity to Domenech and anyone else “if they confess their crimes and produce results that eradicate corruption.”
Domenech’s interview marked his first public comments since Negrón accused him of irregularities related to contract processing and undue government interference. Negrón also referred to the Justice Department and its Office of Government Ethics, the findings of an internal investigation led by the economic development agency against two government officials, who are accused of interfering in the process for an auction of a contract involving federal funds.
Domenech’s submitted his sworn statements after alleged private text messages between him and Negrón were made public earlier this week, roiling the U.S. territory. Some of the alleged messages reflect pressure to find positions within the economic development agency for hard-core loyalists of González who worked on her campaign. Domenech also alleged that Negrón knew he was being investigated.
In a statement issued Thursday, Negrón called Domenech’s allegations against him false.
“The most troubling aspect of what happened today is not the attack against me personally, but the message it sends to every public servant who witnesses irregularities and decides to report them,” Negrón said.
He also asserted that companies who have invested in Puerto Rico have been dragged into the scandal.
“Puerto Rico needs to strengthen the confidence of those who invest, produce, and generate opportunities, not turn them into collateral damage in personal or political disputes or vendettas,” Negrón said.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
FILE - A Puerto Rican national flag flies in front of the Capitol building in San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo, File)
