Comedian Carlos Mencia has been charged with 12 felony tax counts, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Thursday.
Prosecutors allege Mencia, 58, failed to file personal and corporate tax returns over a six-year period and did not report about $8.7 million in income, resulting in more than $300,000 in unpaid state taxes.
The case is the first brought by the district attorney’s newly launched Business Tax Fraud Unit.
At a news conference Thursday, Hochman described Mencia as “one of California’s biggest tax scofflaws” and said the comedian appears on the California Franchise Tax Board’s list of the state’s 500 largest tax delinquents in both personal and corporate income tax categories.
According to prosecutors, Mencia is charged with six felony counts related to personal income tax returns and six felony counts related to corporate tax returns. Authorities allege he failed to report both corporate and personal income between 2019 and 2024.
Hochman said the California Franchise Tax Board sent Mencia 78 notices regarding his tax obligations during that period, but he allegedly did not respond to any of them.
Prosecutors allege approximately $5.4 million of the unreported income was tied to Mencia’s company.
Authorities arrested Mencia on Thursday, and he remained in custody following the announcement. Bail was set at $250,000. Prosecutors said he is expected to be arraigned Monday in Van Nuys.
If convicted on all counts, Mencia could face more than 10 years in state prison, according to prosecutors. He could also be ordered to repay the taxes owed, along with interest and potential civil penalties.
ABC News has reached out to a public relations representative for Mencia.

Curry Barker has found a home for his next horror feature, reuniting with Universal Film Group and Blumhouse-Atomic Monster.
The Obsession auteur will write, direct and produce his third film for the banners, following his $297M breakout horror hit—which is still on a box office hot streak—and his upcoming supernatural title Anything But Ghosts, which he wrote, directed and also stars in alongside Aaron Paul, Bryce Dallas Howard and Violet McGraw.
While plot details are currently being kept under wraps, the film is based on an original idea pitched by Barker.
“This film is something I’ve been excited to make for a while, and I’m thrilled to be re-teaming with Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Universal Film Group for it,” said Barker. “They’ve built the kind of home for bold, original storytelling that every filmmaker dreams of, and I couldn’t imagine better collaborators for this film.”
NBCUniversal Entertainment Chairman Donna Langley praised Barker’s “exceptional ability to tap into the cultural zeitgeist, pairing an innate instinct for what resonates with audiences with extraordinary filmmaking prowess. Barker’s talent is redefining what’s possible and we’re thrilled to continue our partnership with him.”
Blumhouse Atomic Monster’s James Wan and Jason Blum said they’re “proud to have a growing slate with Curry. Getting to put this project in front of the fans his work speaks to is the whole reason we do this.”
The project is produced by Roy Lee and Steven Schneider’s Spooky Pictures and Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath’ Divide/Conquer. It will be distributed worldwide by Universal Film Group.
Barker is repped by Underground, United Talent Agency, The Lede Company and Yorn Levine.

Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks took a swing out of left field Thursday to poke fun at MS NOW while appearing live on the network.
MS NOW correspondent Jacob Soboroff was reporting live from the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, where some of the biggest names in politics and entertainment gathered to launch the opening of former President Barack Obama’s library and museum.
Soboroff eyed the “Forrest Gump” star, who was busy hobnobbing with other attendees but eventually offered his time to the reporter.
“What can I do for the 800 people watching MSNOW?” Hanks asked Soboroff.
“Alright, add a zero if you need to,” Hanks then quipped.
Soboroff took the joke in stride, responding, “I would say millions now that you’re on our air.”
After the two discussed the Obama Presidential Center, Soboroff thanked Hanks for “adding the zero to our ratings today.”
“I gotta tell ya, I can hear the clicks happening before my very eyes,” Hanks joked before walking away.
Soboroff then turned to MS NOW anchor Katy Tur, appearing amused by the exchange.
“Alright, thanks Tom. Appreciate that,” Tur reacted with a grin.
“He has been very supportive of the press, at least in the past,” Tur jokingly added before referencing Hanks’ donated coffee machine to White House reporters in 2017.
A representative for MS NOW declined to comment.
Hanks cheekily undercounted MS NOW’s viewership, which averaged 691,000 total day viewers and 1.1 million primetime viewers in the first quarter of 2026.
The liberal network, however, trailed behind Fox News Channel’s 1.7 million average total day viewers and 2.6 million primetime viewers during the same period.

This is per Variety, which notes that Hollywood’s sixth-on-average favorite Chris has signed on with nonpartisan creative media studio ATTN:, for a series that will pair him up with Goodwin in order to “engage international audiences with America’s constitutional values and history through modern digital storytelling.” Which sounds, in practice, like it’ll involve Pratt steering into his cheerful dope public persona, only for Goodwin to correct him on misconceptions about American history. The series, produced by Veep and The Studio‘s Alex Gregory, will reportedly blend live-action and animation, and is being partially funded with the tiny amount of cash still flowing from the federal funding spigot at the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Public Diplomacy and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. (The idea being, apparently, that foreign audiences will learn to love constitutional democracy through the lens of the planet’s third-most-beloved Garfield actor.) (In our minds, those same foreign audiences are serious Lorenzo Music partisans.)
According to press materials, each episode of the series “explores a defining constitutional value through the story of a pivotal historical figure or happening,” and will “pair Pratt’s curiosity and humor with Goodwin’s historical expertise and fact-checking to highlight America’s founding ideals.” Which actually sounds like it could be pretty fun—once you brush aside the entire flag convention’s worth of red flags surrounding this particular pairing of artist and subject.

Hollywood can finally stop obsessing over Obsession filmmaker Curry Barker‘s next movie.
Universal Film Group, along with Blumhouse Atomic Monster, has landed Barker’s first follow-up since the release of Obsession, the breakout movie of the year.
In closing what is described as a rich eight-figure deal, Barker will write, produce and direct his third film for Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Universal.
The deal keeps Barker in the Universal family, as Obsession was released by Universal label Focus Features. Focus is also behind his already shot second feature, Anything But Ghosts, which he wrote, directed and stars in.
Blumhouse Atomic Monster has been involved with those films, coming aboard Obsession after it bowed at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, and as a production entity on Anything but Ghosts. It is back in a similar capacity for this film.
Also producing are Roy Lee and Steven Schneider’s Spooky Pictures and Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath’s Divide/Conquer, a banner behind horror movies such as The Black Phone and Heart Eyes.
All details for the new project are being kept secret, but it is described as a Barker original horror idea. The project was bought off of a pitch Barker made to Universal’s top brass.
“Curry Barker has an exceptional ability to tap into the cultural zeitgeist, pairing an innate instinct for what resonates with audiences with extraordinary filmmaking prowess,” said NBCUniversal Entertainment chairman Donna Langley in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “Barker’s talent is redefining what’s possible and we’re thrilled to continue our partnership with him.”
Barker’s new feature will be distributed worldwide by Universal Film Group.
Since its May 15 release, Obsession has become a pop culture phenomenon and has driven conversations on topics ranging from the movie business to gender relations. It is the rare movie to have four consecutive weekends bigger than its opening ($17.2 million) and has become Focus Features’ highest-grossing release of all time. Still going strong, it is on track to surpass $300 million worldwide this weekend. A critical and audience sensation, the movie is even starting to generate Oscar buzz. The film was made independently for just $750,000, with Focus buying it out of TIFF.
“This film is something I’ve been excited to make for a while, and I’m thrilled to be reteaming with Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Universal Film Group for it,” Barker stated regarding the new project. “They’ve built the kind of home for bold, original storytelling that every filmmaker dreams of, and I couldn’t imagine better collaborators for this film.”
In a joint statement, Blumhouse Atomic Monster partners James Wan and Jason Blum said, “With Obsession, Curry did what only a handful of filmmakers manage in a generation: he made something wholly original that connected with a massive audience, and that connection is what we care about most. The best filmmakers can work anywhere, and we are proud to have a growing slate with Curry. Getting to put this project in front of the fans his work speaks to is the whole reason we do this.”
Barker is repped by UTA, Underground and Yorn Levine.