The famous become infamous when expenses are mysteriously written off, tax papers go missing, or accountants disapper.
Are these honest mistakes, or do celebrities follow the lead of billionaire tax cheat Leona Helmsley and believe that "only the little people pay taxes?"
Below is a gallery featuring 10 tax fraudsters in recent memory. Whether they're paying their dues in jail (Wesley Snipes) or through a far worse punishment, reality TV (Jose Canseco), they're all paying the piper.
Click through to see if your favourite idol made the list.
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Famous Tax Cheats
Although it's been five years since the first winner of 'Survivor' was convicted of tax evasion, Richard Hatch is still in hot water. In late January 2010, prosecutors recommended that Hatch return to jail because he allegedly failed to file amended tax returns upon his initial release.
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Famous Tax Cheats
Actor Wesley Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison for failing to file tax returns. It was the maximum penalty - and a victory for prosecutors who sought to make an example of the action star. Wesley Snipes called on famous friends to vouch for him, highlighted his clean criminal record and even wrote the government $5 million in checks - all in an effort to convince a judge that his conviction on tax charges should cost him nothing more than home detention and some public service announcements.
Famous Tax Cheats
The Academy Award-winning actor used his company, Saturn Productions, "to wrongly write off $3.3 million in personal expenses," reports Forbes. Cage's business manager says the spending, which included "limos, meals, gifts, travel" and a Gulfstream jet, are all "security needs." Nicholas Cage has gone to tax court to dispute $814,000 in taxes and penalties.
Famous Tax Cheats
Before her jail time for insider trading, Martha Stewart, the queen of domesticity found herself in trouble when a judge ruled her claim of not spending a lot of time at her East Hampton, N.Y., home wasn't a good excuse for failing to pay $220,000 in state taxes.
Famous Tax Cheats
The "Hollywood madam" Heidi Fleiss ran one of the most successful escort services in the business and apparently failed to report her ill-gotten income to the IRS. She was convicted in 1997 for pandering, tax evasion and money laundering and sentenced to three years. When she got out, Fleiss wrote about it all in her memoir, 'Pandering'.
Famous Tax Cheats
On Feb. 17, 1960, a warrant was issued for Dr. Martin Luther King's arrest on charges he had falsified his 1956 and 1958 Alabama state income tax returns. An all-white jury acquitted him in May. Supporters have noted such charges were often used to discredit leaders of the U.S. civil-rights movement.
Famous Tax Cheats
After claiming some $2.6 million worth of phony business expenses, Leona Helmsley, the 'Queen of Mean', was found guilty of tax fraud in 1992 and spent four years in prison. At her trial, one witness testified that Helmsley had boasted: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes."
Famous Tax Cheats
The former Tyco CEO's tax woes began in 2002 when he bought $13 million worth of paintings to grace his Manhattan apartment. He tried to avoid paying sales taxes by making it appear as if they were shipped out of state. Dennis Kozlowski stepped down after the indictment and is currently serving a 25-year sentence for his other dubious business practices.
Famous Tax Cheats
Jennifer Lopez's husband and latin singing superstar Marc Anthony agreed to pay $2.5 million in back taxes, interest and penalties for his failure to file returns for five years between 2000 and 2004. Anthony was not prosecuted because he thought his accountant had filed them.
Famous Tax Cheats
Sophia Loren, the Academy Award winning Italian actress and beauty, made headlines in 1982 when she served an 18-day sentence for tax evasion in an Italian prison.
Famous Tax Cheats
Chuck Berry, the rock and roll legend famous for 'Johnny B. Goode' and other rock classics, spent the 1970s touring and getting paid in cash ... something the IRS noted. He pleaded guilty in 1979 and was ordered to perform 1,000 hours of benefit shows after serving four months in prison.
Famous Tax Cheats
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