Carlos Mencia Arrested at His California Home

Carlos Mencia is back in headlines, and this time it's over taxes, not jokes, per the Hollywood Reporter. The comedian was charged in Los Angeles with 12 felony counts of tax evasion tied to state returns he allegedly didn't file from 2019 through 2024. Prosecutors say Mencia, whose legal name is Ned Arnel Holness, failed to report $8.7 million in income, shorting California by about $300,000 in taxes. The comedian, who once praised taxes on his show Mind of Mencia in 2007, has not yet entered a plea.

He was arrested Thursday morning at his Encino home, according to Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, and faces more than a decade in prison if convicted, along with civil penalties and interest that could nearly double what he owes. About $5.4 million of the unreported income allegedly flowed through Nedlos Entertainment, his production and management company. Hochman said the state's tax board sent Mencia more than 78 notices about missing returns, with no response. Whether he paid federal taxes is unclear, but KTLA reports that in a separate case in 2021, he was accused of failure to pay federal income taxes. The case is the first brought by the DA's new business tax fraud unit, which Hochman said he formed as federal authorities have scaled back criminal tax enforcement. The DA referred to Mencia as "one of California's biggest tax scofflaws," the AP reports.