13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |Castroneves facing tax evasion charges

Castroneves facing tax evasion charges

Miami - Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and Dancing with the Stars champ Helio Castroneves is facing federal tax evasion charges.

A grand jury on Thursday returned a tax evasion indictment against the 33-year-old, who lives in a Coral Gables mansion.

Castroneves is charged with conspiracy and six counts of tax evasion from 1999 through 2004. The driver's sister, business manager and attorney were also indicted.

Castroneves, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, has won the Indianapolis 500 twice. He and partner Julianne Hough won the 2007 "Dancing With The Stars" TV reality show competition.

The counts against Castroneves carry a maximum of 35 years in jail, according to Adam Kuperstein, a reporter with WTVJ, the NBC affiliate in Miami. Castroneves' lawyer faces a maximum of twenty years. Neither man is expected to get such a lengthy sentence if convicted, however.

"You don't mess with the IRS. We joke about that, but no matter who you are, if you're a celebrity or just an average human being, a normal citizen, when you mess with taxes and the federal government, they're gonna come down hard," Kuperstein said in an interview with Eyewitness News.

The indictment is the result of an investigation that spanned several years, according to Kuperstein. "This didn't come out of nowhere. They've been paying close attention to Helio. That's where these charges come from - from 1999 to 2004 - they broke it down and figured out he owed $2 million in taxes. That's a lot of money, no matter who you are."

"Knowing the guy and coming in contact with him, that's what makes this so hard to swallow and digest - is that he's one of the most likeable athletes out there, as you know from his Indy 500 wins and all the great things he's done up there - Dancing with the Stars victory - he's just a likeable guy and not someone you'd expect to get in trouble with the law," said Kuperstein.

News outlets have not been able to reach Castroneves. He was testing in Atlanta Thursday and was reportedly headed to Miami Thursday evening. He expected to appear in Miami for a court hearing Friday morning.