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California comedian Carlos Mencia pleaded not guilty to 12 felony counts related to his tax filings as he appeared in court for the first time on Monday.
The funnyman stood in front of a judge wearing a top reading “Johnny CASH” in large print as eight members of his family including his wife Amy turned up for his hearing.
The court ruled his bail would be reduced from $250,000 to $50,000 after a request from his legal team earlier Monday.
His attorney told The Post his client was “very depressed, very shell shocked” while sitting in a jail cell over the long holiday weekend.
They added: “It just didn’t seem… what he did which isn’t right that it would warrant what happened here. It seems it was just overkill so to speak to toss him in jail for such an extended period. over a three-day holiday weekend.”
Mencia’s Encino mansion was raided on Thursday as part of Los Angeles’ new business crime unit hunting alleged tax cheats.
The DA filed 12 felony counts against, including six related to his personal taxes and the other six to do with his businesses.
Mencia’s brother posted his bail and was seen looking distraught in court while a woman next to him put her hand on his back. The comedian looked over to his family once and shook his head and looked down.
Authorities claim roughly $3.3 million in personal income and $5.4 million in corporate earnings went unreported through Nedlos Entertainment, Inc., where Mencia is listed as CEO and owner.
LA County DA Nathan Hochman branded Mencia one of the “500 greatest tax delinquents” after the comedian allegedly dodged filings for $8.7 million of his wealth over five years.
He claimed Mencia was handed 78 warning notices after the state of California missed out on about $300,000 in taxes.
A wave of investigators descended on comedian Carlos Mencia’s Encino mansion, where he was arrested, Thursday as officers moved methodically through the property, hauling out boxes, sealed cases, and bags of materials tied to a sweeping tax fraud investigation.
Photos from the scene showed a heavy presence from the California Franchise Tax Board enforcement team, with officers posted across the driveway and front entrance as they carried evidence containers from inside the home to waiting vehicles.
Several agents were positioned around the property to manage the ongoing removal of materials.
Instead of performing shows scheduled at the Improv in Irvine over the weekend the funny man remained behind bars.
The Irvine Improv pulled promotions on its website of Mencia’s appearance at the club around 10 p.m. on Thursday, replacing him with comedian Francisco Ramos.
Mencia’s next scheduled appearance at Jimmy Kimmel’s comedy club in Las Vegas was still listed on its website.
He had four scheduled shows at the venue on June 24-25 and eight additional appearances in July.
The case marks the debut prosecution for the Business Tax Fraud Unit, which focuses on complex financial crimes involving payroll tax, fraud, falsified business records and underground economy schemes.
Hochman said Thursday Mencia “thought maybe taxes were a laughing matter.” He continued: “We will go after for people who chose to take an unfair advantage.
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