The former striker, originally from Norway, was sentenced after unintentionally failing to disclose his income at the Oslo District Court. Mr Carew has been jailed for a year and two months and slammed with a fine of £45,353 for tax fraud equating to £456,264 in his home country, the Daily Mail reports. The 43-year-old pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges brought by the Norwegian tax authority but denied committing fraud on purpose.
Mr Carew told the court: “I realize that I should have understood better, but I didn’t. The most important thing for me to say is that I have done nothing on purpose.”
The court ruled that Carew did not act intentionally in committing the crime but should be sentenced “for grossly negligent tax evasion for the entire prosecution period”.
Carew’s lawyer Berit Reiss-Andersen said in a statement: “This shows that John Carew is believed on all counts.
“The court has concluded that he has acted grossly negligently, but not with intent.
“We have claimed this all along, and Carew has been clear that he has wanted to make amends.”
John Carew spent four years at Aston Villa before moving to West Ham for a year and half a season at Stoke.
He also represented Norway 91 times, scoring 24 times, and was awarded Norwegian football of the year three times.
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