Comedian Carlos Mencia performs at The Ice House Comedy Club on June 6, 2026 in Pasadena, California. Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images Carlos Mencia has been charged with tax evasion after Los Angeles prosecutors said he failed to pay taxes from 2019 to 2024.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office on Thursday brought 12 felony counts against Mencia for failing to report $8.7 million in personal and business income, which translates to roughly $300,000 in state taxes.
Mencia, whose real name is Ned Arnel Holness, was arrested earlier this morning at his Encino home, said Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman. He faces a maximum sentence of over ten years in prison, plus civil penalties and interest on the taxes he didn’t pay that will almost double the amount he owes. His bail was set at $250,000, with his arraignment scheduled for Monday.
Of the $8.7 million Mencia didn’t report, $5.4 million came from Nedlos Entertainment, a production and management company owned by the comedian, according to prosecutors.
The California Franchise Tax Board sent Mencia over 78 notices that he failed to file his returns, Hochman said. He failed to respond.
It remains unknown whether Mencia paid federal taxes.
The charges against Mencia are the first to be brought by the business tax fraud unit. Hochman said he created the group because of the federal government’s retreat pursuing such cases.
“We used to have a very vibrant tax section in the U.S. Attorney’s Office across the street,” Hochman said. “We don’t anymore. The old unit I came from, which is the tax division in the U.S. Department of Justice, doesn’t exist on the criminal side anymore.”
He added,” The amount of tax violations is in the millions and millions and millions of dollars every year.”
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