Comedian Carlos Mencia hit with 12 felony counts in alleged massive tax dodge

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Comedian Carlos Mencia was taken into custody earlier this week on a dozen felony charges for failing to report or pay taxes on more than $8 million in earnings, according to California authorities. 

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the arrest at a news conference Thursday, where he referred to the charges against the 58-year-old stand-up comic as "one of California’s biggest tax scofflaws," according to The Associated Press. 

Hochman added that Mencia owes more than $300,000 in state taxes on income reaching $8.7 million. 

The case is one of the first to be filed under Hochman’s Business Tax Fraud Unit that was established last month.

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Mencia was arrested at his Los Angeles home Thursday morning and remained in custody through the evening on $250,000 bail. 

He was charged with six felony counts of failure to file personal income tax with the intent to evade taxes — one for each year from 2019 to 2024 — and six similar counts for corporate taxes.

If convicted, Mencia could face a maximum sentence of more than 11 years behind bars. He would also be required to pay the full tax bills, including interest that could nearly double the total amount.

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Mencia regularly paid taxes before 2019 and was previously sent 78 notices from the state of California regarding his delinquency bills, Hochman said. 

The comedian allegedly did not respond to any of the notices and the state has not been advised by the IRS regarding the comic’s federal tax standing, the district attorney added. 

Mencia has not yet entered a plea in the case.

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Mencia — whose real name is Ned Arnel Holness — rose to fame in the 1980s after he began performing stand-up in clubs throughout the City of Angels. 

His career skyrocketed in the 2000s when he premiered his own show, "Mind of Mencia," on Comedy Central in 2005.

However, his stardom hit a snag when he was accused by several high-profile comics of plagiarism. Notably, podcaster Joe Rogan confronted Mencia on stage regarding the allegations in a now-viral video published in 2007.

At the time, Mencia appeared on Marc Maron’s podcast, telling the host that while he never outright stole jokes from other comedians, he may have absorbed others’ material. 

Mencia regularly performs on small stages throughout the area and is set to appear in a series of live shows throughout Southern California next week.

While speaking to reporters Thursday, Hochman pointed to a 2007 clip in which Mencia said, "Maybe I’m different, but I think taxes are a good thing."

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Fox News Digital reached out to Mencia’s publicist and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for comment. 

Julia Bonavita is a media and culture writer for Fox News Digital, and a Fox Flight Team drone pilot. You can follow her at @juliabonavita13 on all platforms and send story tips to julia.bonavita@fox.com.