Carlos Mencia was arrested and charged with 12 felony counts of state tax evasion, including six counts tied to personal income tax and six tied to corporate income tax, after prosecutors alleged he failed to report millions between 2019 and 2024.
Carlos Mencia was arrested on Thursday, June 18, and by day’s end the Los Angeles County case had already taken a sharper turn: he faced 12 felony counts of state tax evasion tied to alleged non-filing of both personal and corporate returns.
The comedian. 58. was charged by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. with District Attorney Nathan J Hochman confirming the filing that same day. The charges come after prosecutors said Mencia failed to report $8.7 million in personal and corporate income taxes between the years of 2019 to 2024. The case is also described as the first for the newly established Business Tax Fraud Unit.
At a press conference on June 18, Hochman framed the allegations as more than paperwork failure. In a statement, he said, “Mr. Mencia has an income most people can only dream of. and like everyone else he is required to file his personal and corporate tax returns and pay his fair share.” He added that failing to report millions of dollars in income is “a slap in the face to hardworking Californians who diligently file and pay their taxes every year because they care about their communities and the public goods. like police. fire. roads. and utilities. their tax dollars provide.” Hochman concluded. “Today we are sending a message to the tax scofflaws that it is no longer business as usual in Los Angeles County – the days of a free pass for failing to file returns and pay taxes are over.”.
The specific charges laid out by prosecutors are split evenly. Mencia faces six felony counts of failure to file personal income tax with the intent to evade tax and six felony counts of failure to file corporate income tax with the intent to evade tax.
Prosecutors also pointed to alleged non-filing after repeated warnings. The report says he was listed by the California Franchise Tax Board among the top 500 tax delinquencies in both the personal and corporate income categories. and that the board allegedly sent him 78 notices alerting him to the non-filed returns.
The alleged math behind the case is stark. The report alleges Mencia failed to report about $3.3 million in personal income, plus $5.4 million in income for his company, Nedlos Entertainment, Inc., where he is the CEO and owner.
The DA office says the unpaid taxes owed to the state add up to over $300,000: approximately $267,594 in personal income taxes and approximately $35,117 in corporate income taxes.
At the time of the arrest report, Mencia was still in custody following his arrest on Thursday, June 18. Bail was set at $250,000, and his arraignment is scheduled for Monday, June 22.
If convicted, prosecutors say he could face 11 years and four months in prison.
Carlos Mencia arrested felony tax evasion Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan J Hochman Business Tax Fraud Unit state tax Franchise Tax Board Nedlos Entertainment arraignment June 22 bail 250000