Wooten Pleads Guilty to Income Tax Evasion
Jazz Musician Roy Wilfred Wooten Pleads Guilty to One Count of Income Tax Evasion in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. May 4, 2005 ? A member of the jazz-fusion group Bela Fleck and the Flecktones has pleaded guilty to one count of income tax evasion, a prosecutor said.
Roy Wilfred Wooten, who uses the names Futureman and RoyEl in his music career, was indicted in November 2001 on four counts of income tax evasion for the years 1995-98, U.S. Attorney Jim Vines said Tuesday.
Authorities say Wooten falsely filed forms saying he was exempt from income tax. The grand jury indictment claims he conducted his affairs in cash to avoid detection and concealed a taxable income over the four years of about $379,000, on which he owed more than $100,000 in taxes.
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Sentencing is set for Aug. 8.
A spokeswoman for Bela Fleck and the Flecktones refused to comment.
Wooten plays the drumitar, a guitar-shaped instrument he invented that allows him to replicate the sound of a drum kit with a few fingers. He also invented The RoyEl, a piano-shaped instrument that uses samples of sounds from nature.
Wooten has been a member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones since 1990.