Comedian Carlos Mencia to face criminal charges in L.A.

Comedian Carlos Mencia is expected to face criminal charges in Los Angeles in what will be the first case filed by Los Angeles County’s new Business Tax Fraud Unit.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman did not provide specifics about the allegations, but he said the exact charges against the 58-year-old funnyman would be announced during a press conference Thursday at 2 p.m. local time

It’s not the first time Mencia has been in trouble with the law. In 2021, the IRS filed a lien claiming the comedian and his wife, Amy, owed almost $1.2 million for 3 years of unpaid federal income tax, NR Today reported.

Born Ned Arnel Holness, Mencia immigrated from Honduras to the US.. as an infant and he was raised in East Los Angeles. He shot to fame in the early 2000s with his self-titled show, “Mind of Mencia,” which aired on Comedy Central for four seasons between 2005 and 2008. The show was abruptly canceled that year, after Mencia was accused of stealing material from other comedians, among them George Lopez and Ari Shaffir.

Mencia has consistently denied those allegations.

He has since appeared in the film “Our Family Wedding” in 2010, the TV series “La Chamba” in 2012, and the 2011 comedy special “Carlos Mencia: New Territory,” his IMDb says. He also continued to tour as a standup comedian despite the plagiarism backlash. He additionally hosts podcast called “Between the Laughs.”