Comedian Carlos Mencia, 58, set to face criminal charges by new LA tax fraud unit

Comedian Carlos Mencia is set to face criminal charges by the city of Los Angeles' new Business Tax Fraud Unit.

The 58-year-old star's case is the first in the newly-established crime unit, and his charges will be revealed on Thursday amid a tax fraud investigation, according to a news release. 

L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman will announce the charges during a press conference which is scheduled to take place at 2pm PST at the Hall of Justice in Downtown Los Angeles. 

Mencia is known for his stand-up comedy as well as hosting the Comedy Central show Mind Of Mencia from 2005 through 2008. 

He was born in Honduras before later moving to Los Angeles at a young age to be raised by his aunt and uncle. 

After briefly moving back to his home country, he later returned to California and graduated from Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. 

He enrolled in California State University, Los Angeles but would eventually drop out to pursue his passion for comedy. 

His first step into the industry was during a performance at the comedy club, Laugh Factory, during amateur night. 

Mencia continued to perform at comedy shows throughout L.A. in the 90s and released a comedy album titled Take a Joke, America in 2000. 

The star joined Freddy Soto and Pablo Francisco for their The Three Amigos tour which began in 2002. 

Along with his show on Comedy Central, Mencia appeared in movies such as 29 Palms (2002) and The Heartbreak Kid (2007). 

He also stepped into the world of television by voicing the character of Felix on the animated series The Proud Family. 

Back in 2007, Mencia was involved in an infamous confrontation with Joe Rogan who accused him of stealing jokes. 

The moment occurred when Rogan confronted the comedian when he was on stage at The Comedy Store in L.A.

The podcast host later uploaded a video of the confrontation online alongside other comedians' jokes to compare to similar ones later said by Mencia.  

Another comedian, George Lopez, had also made the same accusation against Mencia about stealing jokes. 

However in 2020, Rogan addressed his feud with Mencia during an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast which had featured guest and late actor Bob Saget. 

'I don't have any hate for that dude. And I hope he's doing great, I really do,' Rogan stated. 

The Full House alum added, 'I think he has learned his lesson,' which prompted the podcast host to reply, 'I hope he has, and I hope people forgive him, too.' 

Following the incident, Rogan had been banned from The Comedy Store and his agency also dropped him.

'I was angry. I put all that time into that place, and that Mencia thing - I thought we were doing the right thing. I thought that was a real problem,' Rogan added. 

Mencia has denied the accusation that he stole jokes and opened up about the topic back in 2019. 

'A really good friend of mine said I should call Joe and make up because he has got a really good podcast,' the comedian explained on the LatiNation podcast. 

'And I said, "What am I supposed to say to someone who accused me of stealing jokes, but not his, and he’s the one who's tried to ruin my career?"'

The star continued, 'I never tried to ruin his career. I don't know how to address that.' 

Back in 2021, it was reported that Mencia allegedly owed the IRS $1.2 million for three years of unpaid federal income taxes, per NR Today. 

Los Angeles County's new Business Tax Fraud Unit was officially launched earlier this year. 

It focuses on a number of crimes including business tax evasion, payroll tax fraud, falsified business records and underground economy schemes, per the California Post.