A comedian whose past is littered with accusations of joke theft is facing a future of criminal allegations that could mean 10 years in prison.
At a news conference Thursday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced that Carlos Mencia had allegedly failed to report personal and business income worth more than $8 million, according to ABC News.
The case against Mencia is the first brought by a DA unit specifically dedicated to tax fraud.
Comedian Carlos Mencia has been charged with 12 felony tax counts, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Thursday. https://t.co/K68oFY3X9z pic.twitter.com/zbrPiqcIGA
— ABC News (@ABC) June 18, 2026
At the news conference, Hochman called Mencia “one of California’s biggest tax scofflaws.”
According to prosecutors, Mencia failed to report his income — personal or business — from 2019 to 2024, ABC reported.
He also failed to respond to 78 notices from the California tax authorities, Hochman said, according to ABC.
He was arrested Thursday morning and charged with 12 felony counts, according to ABC. He isn’t likely to be arraigned until Monday, the network reported.
The comedian’s legal problems are serious — besides prison time, he also faces the potential of having to pay back taxes and fines, according to ABC.
But they’re not the first time he’s been in hot water.
Scandalous past of California comedian Carlos Mencia – as the DA comes crushing down on him https://t.co/FrW7KFxi5U pic.twitter.com/MduCpDRT9s
— New York Post (@nypost) June 18, 2026
As the New York Post reported, Mencia has been accused by fellow comedians of stealing their jokes.
In 2007, Joe Rogan — years before he became a heavyweight podcaster — jumped on stage during a Mencia act and made the accusations publicly, according to a newspaper’s account.
Mencia’s reputation for pilfering material even became the plot of a “South Park” episode in 2009 that also mocked rapper Kanye West.
This also isn’t the first tax trouble Mencia has faced, according to the New York Post.
The IRS has put liens on property Mencia owns in Oregon, according to the newspaper, for unpaid federal taxes of about $1.2 million.
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