WESLEY SNIPES - SNIPES INVESTIGATION STARTED 'YEARS AGO'

SNIPES INVESTIGATION STARTED 'YEARS AGO'

LATEST: WESLEY SNIPES has been under surveillance by America's Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for four years, after officials began a nationwide investigation into tax fraud in 2002. A raid by the IRS in 2002 unearthed documents concerning fraudulent trust funds, one of which was owned by the BLADE star. The four-year investigation of Snipes' case was brought to light during the trial of ARTHUR FANSWORTH, who has been accused of tax evasion. Fansworth, who has publicly admitted to the offence, established false trust funds to hide money and evade income tax payments, one of which was owned by Snipes. Snipes was indicted in Florida on eight charges of fraud in October (06), accused of failing to file tax returns for six years and of seeking $12 million (GBP6.7 million) in fraudulent refunds. Fansworth's case continues in a US District Court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.