Prosecutors who convicted actor Wesley Snipes on charges of failing to file his tax return for three years have filed a cross-appeal demanding that he pay $257,687.74 for the cost of prosecuting him.
Snipes was convicted on three misdemeanor charges in February and sentenced to three years in prison in April, but he was acquitted of felony charges as well as some other misdemeanor charges. He is free on bail, pending his appeal (see
Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Scotland Morris submitted a bill of costs to Judge Gary R. Jones of the U.S. District Court in Ocala, Fla., saying Snipes should pay $193,716.98 for the scanning, printing and numbering of documents; $61,326.18 in witness-related fees, $2,456.40 in fees for daily trial transcripts and other costs, and $188.18 in fees for copying and certification of trial exhibits.
Snipes' lawyers, Carmen Hernandez and Daniel Meachum, have filed a motion objecting to the costs.
"The government has attested that the costs were necessarily incurred in 'this case,'" they wrote. "However, the government has failed to attest that the costs are reasonable and necessary not just in the case but solely with respect to the three counts of conviction against Mr. Snipes, a prerequisite to imposition of costs."
They argued that the costs are excessive and include expenses for charges on which Snipes was acquitted.
