Helio Castroneves & Julianne Hough - Season 5

[psycobabe007]

Helio, Helio, Helio....

What a mess this is.

Dancing Champ Helio Castroneves Indicted in Tax Case

By Mike Fleeman

Originally posted Thursday October 02, 2008 03:55 PM EDT

Dancing with the Stars champ Helio Castroneves was indicted Thursday in a federal income tax case in Florida, PEOPLE confirms.

Castroneves, who charmed judges and the audience with his enthusiasm and infectious smile, is accused by a federal grand jury of siphoning millions of dollars in income to a Panamanian shell company from 1999 to 2004.

The 33-year-old Brazilian-born professional race car driver is expected to appear in a Miami court on Friday to face charges of conspiracy and tax evasion. If convicted of all charges, he faces a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison.

His sister and business manager Katiucia Castroneves and his attorney, Alan Miller, were also indicted.

Bud Denker, executive vice president of Penske Racing, for which Castroneves races, tells PEOPLE that Castroneves was in Atlanta Thursday preparing for a race on Saturday.

"He's doing fine," says Denker. "Now, he's focusing on getting this thing behind him, getting in the race car and hopefully winning a race."

Denker had not yet seen the indictment and said he could not comment on the charges.

Link to Article Here

[karalott]

Wow. I saw this first on TMZ, then on AH. Too bad. I can't imagine him going to prison for 35 years

[NCLurker]

I saw this on the new tonight. This should be interesting to watch.

[SavhLaney]

I hope that this is all a misunderstanding and that Helio will come out of it okay.

[Nativenewyorker]

I was really shocked to hear about this. Helio was my favorite from the beginning. I thought he was a really great guy with charm and charisma to spare, also a great dancer.

But this is terrible news. The IRS means business when it goes after you. Ask Wesley Snipes. The charges are extremely serious. It's one thing to simply not pay your taxes, but it's quite another when you are accused of willfully setting up illegal tax shelters to willfully hide income. I read all of the charges against him and it is beyond disturbing.

My understanding is that he comes from a wealthy family, so why the need to evade paying taxes? Also, his sister has been charged here. She has been his business manager and is also supposedly involved in setting up overseas bank accounts to hide income.

This is a sad state of affairs.

[SavhLaney]

Helio says he is innocent and I will believe that at this time.

[MsDiva2007]

Well I guess dancing isn't the only thing Helio faked well. Hmmm

[Blues Songstres]

Well I guess dancing isn't the only thing Helio faked well. Hmmm

Hmmm... chuckle..snort...

[tango7]

My understanding is that he comes from a wealthy family, so why the need to evade paying taxes?

I believe innocent until proven guilty, and I hope Helio gets this straightened out. However, coming from a wealthy family is irrelevant. Leona Helmsley was very wealthy; tax evasion is one way that people remain wealthy (they under-report income, lie about deductions, hide money in Swiss Bank accts, Cayman Islands, etc.) and that’s why she went to prison for 18 months in 1989. Actor Wesley Snipes was also wealthy but he was sentenced to 3 years; the IRS gets quite ugly about this type thing.

[Nativenewyorker]

I believe innocent until proven guilty, and I hope Helio gets this straightened out. However, coming from a wealthy family is irrelevant. Leona Helmsley was very wealthy; tax evasion is one way that people remain wealthy (they under-report income, lie about deductions, hide money in Swiss Bank accts, Cayman Islands, etc.) and that’s why she went to prison for 18 months in 1989. Actor Wesley Snipes was also wealthy but he was sentenced to 3 years; the IRS gets quite ugly about this type thing.

Well, I am not rich so I guess I sound naive. I guess it's called greed. But I am not ready to assume that he is guilty. I will leave that to a jury to decide. But it's sad to see him going through this.

I have to say that I think the comment about dancing not being the only thing he faked, is really in poor taste. It's true that we don't know all the facts. So I will not rush to judgment. I loved his dancing and so did millions of others, that's why he won. Unless the implication is that all of us don't know great dancing when we see it.

I can only hope that somehow things will work out for him, but it's a bad situation to be in. It is true that the IRS goes after the rich and famous with a vengeance.