Prosecutors say the comedian failed to report $8.7 million in personal and corporate income.
LOS ANGELES, CA — Comedian Carlos Mencia was arrested Thursday and charged with 12 felony tax counts after prosecutors said he failed to report millions of dollars in personal and corporate income from 2019 through 2024.
The case marks the first filing by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office’s new Business Tax Fraud Unit. District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Mencia, 58, owed more than $300,000 in state taxes tied to $8.7 million in alleged unreported income. Mencia has not entered a plea, and his arraignment is scheduled for June 22 at the Van Nuys Courthouse.
Mencia, whose legal name is Ned Arnel Holness, was arrested at about 7 a.m. Thursday at his Los Angeles home, authorities said. Prosecutors charged him with six felony counts of failure to file personal income tax returns with intent to evade taxes and six similar felony counts tied to corporate income tax returns. Each set of charges covers tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. “Mr. Mencia has an income most people can only dream of, and like everyone else he is required to file his personal and corporate tax returns and pay his fair share,” Hochman said.
Prosecutors said the alleged unreported income included about $3.3 million in personal income and about $5.4 million in corporate income for Nedlos Entertainment Inc., a company they identified as Mencia’s business. The district attorney’s office said Mencia is the company’s owner and CEO. Hochman said the California Franchise Tax Board sent Mencia 78 notices about the missing returns before the criminal case was filed. The exact amount Mencia may owe could grow with penalties and interest, officials said. His federal tax status was not disclosed by prosecutors, and the state case focuses on California tax filings.
Authorities said bail was set at $250,000 and that Mencia remained in custody after the arrest. Prosecutors said he could face more than 11 years in prison if convicted on all counts. The charges are allegations, and Mencia is presumed innocent unless proved guilty in court. An attorney or representative for Mencia did not immediately provide a public comment after the charges were announced. The district attorney’s office said the new tax fraud unit was created to pursue cases involving business-related tax evasion and high-dollar unpaid taxes.
Mencia became a national comedy figure in the 2000s as the creator and host of “Mind of Mencia,” which aired on Comedy Central from 2005 to 2008. He has continued to tour as a stand-up comic in clubs and theaters. Prosecutors said the tax case does not center on his comedy material or public career, but on required state filings during a six-year period. Hochman said the alleged failure to file returns hurt public services funded by taxes, including police, fire, roads and utilities.
The next court step is Mencia’s arraignment on June 22 in Department 100 of the Van Nuys Courthouse. At that hearing, he is expected to hear the charges formally and may enter a plea. Prosecutors have not said whether they will seek additional charges. The Business Tax Fraud Unit is expected to continue working with state tax officials on the case as court proceedings begin.
Mencia’s arrest came the same day prosecutors announced the case at a downtown Los Angeles news conference. Hochman called the filing a message that large unpaid tax cases will receive closer attention from the county. The case now moves from the district attorney’s announcement to the court record, where prosecutors will have to prove the alleged failures to file and the claimed intent to evade taxes.
Author note: Last updated June 19, 2026.