Actor Stephen Baldwin is on the road to paying back his debt to the New York state government. The former Celebrity Apprentice contestant has paid $100,000 of what he owes in unpaid taxes.
Baldwin was in Rockland County Court on Friday to turn in $100,000, reports The Journal News. He said that he is confident that he can pay back the rest of the bill, which amounts to $250,000. Still, prosecutor Anthony Dellicarri did tell the judge that if Baldwin doesn’t do as promised, he could go to jail.
According to the New York Post, the Usual Suspects actor once owed $400,000, but did make a payment to reduce that to $350,000.
In December 2012, he was arrested for failing to pay taxes after a state investigation. He was arraigned on a felony charge of failing to file income tax returns in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The actor, 47, cited “some really bad suggestions and advice ... from lawyers and accountants.”
This past March, he pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $400,000 in restitution.
“This was never about not wanting to do the right thing, never about not wanting or willing to pay what I owe,” Baldwin told the media Friday.
Baldwin is the younger brother of 30 Rock actor Alec Baldwin.
image: NBC