Actor Wesley Snipes must go to prison for tax evasion

MIAMI (Reuters) - A U.S. judge rejected an appeal by actor Wesley Snipes on Friday and ordered to begin serving a sentence of three years in prison for tax evasion.

Snipes had already lost an appeal to the ruling of a court in Ocala, Florida, in 2008, for three misdemeanor tax after failing to submit tax returns from 1999 to 2001.

"The defendant Snipes had a fair trial (...) it is time that the decision is imposed," said District Judge Terrell Hodges in his sentence.

The judge ordered that the star of the movie trilogy "Blade", 48, is present in prison as he was ordered by service commissioners United States or the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

However, it was not clear when or where Snipes could begin his prison term.

Snipes' attorney, Daniel Meachum, told the Orlando Sentinel that the actor is "very disappointed but it is positive and strong."

Looking for a new trial, Meachum had stated that the original trial jury was biased and that the star witness had his own criminal problems.

In its ruling of April 2008, prosecutors said Snipes, a resident of Windermere, Florida, had won more than 38 million since 1999 but have not filed or paid taxes.

(Reporting by Tom Brown; additional information Pascal Fletcher, editing by Patricia Avila Spanish)