WESLEY SNIPES RELEASED FROM PRISON BUT IS CONFINED TO HOUSE ARREST FOR NEXT 4 MONTHS

WESLEY SNIPES

Wesley Snipes has been released from prison and will spend the next four months under house arrest to complete his three-year prison sentence for tax evasion, a spokesman for the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons said on Friday.

The action film star, best known for the "Blade" trilogy, was released from prison in northwestern Pennsylvania on Tuesday and will be under house arrest until July 19, the spokesman said.

Snipes, 50, was convicted in 2008 of three misdemeanor counts of failing to file tax returns but was acquitted of felony fraud and filing false tax claims.

Prosecutors argued that Snipes had earned more than $38 million between 1999 and 2006 but failed to file income tax returns or pay any taxes during that time.

It was not known where Snipes will serve the remainder of his sentence. He was a resident of the upscale suburb of Windermere in Orlando, Florida, at the time of his conviction.

Federal records indicate Snipes is under the supervision of the New York Community Corrections Office, which oversees people under house arrest in the Bronx and Brooklyn boroughs of New York City, as well as New Jersey.

Snipes must gain approval to leave home detention, the spokesman said.