Carlos Mencia's six years of tax avoidance 'a mistake,' lawyer says

LOS ANGELES (CN) — Comedian Carlos Mencia was arraigned in a Van Nuys court on Monday on charges of tax evasion for failing to report $8.7 million in income over the course of six years.

He entered a not-guilty plea, although his attorney, Dana Cole, told reporters afterward that he expects his client to change his plea and that “we are going to work out a disposition.”

“Everyone should pay their taxes,” Cole said. “This is a mistake, and we’re going to fix it.” He added, “There are reasons why this happened, which I’m not gonna get into.”

The Honduran-born Mencia, whose birth name is Ned Holness, has remained in custody since his arrest Thursday but is expected to be released Monday after posting bail. His bail was initially set at $250,000, but prosecutors secured a “1275 hold,” arguing the money used to post bond would have been “feloniously obtained.” On Monday, Cole moved to lift the hold, arguing Section 1275.1 does not apply because failing to file tax returns is an “offense of omission.”

Mencia faces 12 felony counts for failing to file tax returns between 2019 and 2024. According to Cole, he owes the state about $300,000 in taxes.

“That amount should not justify a no bail hold,” Cole argued in his motion.

At Monday’s hearing, Superior Court Judge John Reid agreed the hold should be lifted.

“The money didn’t come from illegal sources, it just may not belong to him,” Reid said.

Reid also agreed to Cole’s motion to reduce the bail amount to $50,000, which he said Mencia’s brother will post, since Mencia’s assets have been frozen.

In his motion and in speaking to reporters after the hearing, Cole criticized the DA’s office for arresting Mencia on Thursday, following a raid with guns drawn — an “absurd show of force,” he said in his motion. Because the arrest occurred shortly before the Juneteenth holiday, and because of the hold, it meant Mencia spent more than three days in jail.

“He missed Father’s Day, sitting in jail,” Cole said, “Whether that was calculated, I don’t know.” Mencia also missed a four-day standup comedy gig, which cost him some $40,000, “that he would have willingly paid to the Franchise Tax Board to start to pay back any taxes owed,” Cole said in his motion.

The prosecution comes out of a new division set up by District Attorney Nathan Hochman to prosecute tax cheats.

“They wanted to make a splash, and they made a splash,” Cole said.

The 57-year-old comedian is best known for hosting Comedy Central’s “Mind of Mencia” from 2005 to 2008. Over the years, fellow comedians, including Joe Rogan and George Lopez, have accused him of joke theft — a serious offense in standup, though perhaps not as serious as the charges he now faces.

“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,” LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a press release on Thursday, after the charges were filed. “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."

When asked how Mencia was doing, Cole said he was “very, very depressed. Very shell-shocked. It just doesn’t seem like what he did, which wasn’t right, would warrant what happened here.” The attorney added, “He’s very remorseful. Maybe somehow he can see the comedic aspect of this, if there is one. A lot of comedians, in their personal life, have a lot of sadness.”

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