Wesley gets 'Sniped'

[Priest]

Actor may have lost millions in Brit Ponzi scheme

By JAMES DORAN, KAJA WHITEHOUSE and RICHARD WILNER

Wesley Snipes can't seem to get anything right when it comes to his personal finances.

The notorious star of the hit "Blade" trilogy found a new kind of fame last year when he was sentenced to three years in jail for trying to fraudulently obtain $11.4 million of tax refunds between 1999 and 2001. He was also nabbed for willfully failing to file tax returns.

And now a court case in Britain has revealed that Snipes may have lost millions of dollars during that same period in an alleged Ponzi scheme.

Lincoln Fraser and Jared Brook, the two former bosses of a now-defunct British investment firm Imperial Consolidated, went on trial in London at the end of last month accused of defrauding as many as 3,000 victims out of nearly $400 million.

The pair denies running a Ponzi scheme, maintaining that the firm was a legitimate investment operation that merely fell foul of the market.

Prosecutors maintain that Fraser and Brook kept taking money from clients -- including Snipes -- even though they knew the firm was insolvent and incapable of making money.

It is not known exactly how much Snipes lost to the alleged Ponzi scheme, although insiders claim the Hollywood hero invested "millions."

Fraser and Brook, both in their 30s when the firm fell apart, are said to have no financial qualifications. The pair allegedly have frittered away Snipes' cash -- and millions more -- on a luxurious lifestyle that included buying a private jet.

Snipes, meanwhile, has not yet been sent to jail for his tax evasion crimes, despite his conviction last April. The star remains free on bail pending appeal.