Authorities said Thursday that a Riverside County man who sold memorabilia signed by comic book legend and Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee was sentenced to more than a year in jail for tax fraud.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Mac Martin Anderson, 59, of Corona, was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for allegedly receiving over $1.2 million in earnings that he failed to disclose to the IRS. In addition, Anderson was mandated to make restitution of $482,833.
Authorities said Anderson entered a guilty plea in March to two charges of intentionally subscribing to a fake tax return. Anderson had a personal relationship with Lee from 2015 until 2028, and he marketed Marvel merchandise signed by Lee to fans, dealers, and brokers.
According to the announcement, Anderson acknowledged that the tax owed was around $482,833 and received an income of approximately $1.236 million from the sale of the items between 2015 and 2018.
In the 1960s, Lee was instrumental in transforming Marvel Comics into a dominant force. In August 1962, he assisted in bringing Spider-Man to Marvel. In addition to Spider-Man, he was later listed as an associate producer on films starring Iron Man, the X-Men, and Captain America.
