Castroneves trial could go to jury this week

UPDATE This rumor is upgraded to 'fact' today. Testimony is over in the Miami tax evasion trial of Brazilian race car driver Helio Castroneves. Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday, followed by jury deliberations.

04/07/09 Prosecutors in Miami allege auto racing champion Helio Castroneves is a tax cheat who owes the U.S. government $2.3 million. Castroneves, 33, a winner of the Indy 500, faces up to 10 years in prison if he is convicted of conspiring to evade taxes on $5.5 million in income between 1999 and 2004, The Miami Herald reported Monday.

The driver's trial could go to the jury this week, court officials said.

Castroneves, formerly of Brazil and a U.S. resident since 1997, allegedly failed to pay taxes on a $5 million marketing deal with Penske Racing and $530,000 in income he received from a Brazilian sponsor, testified Joann Levitt, an agent for the Internal Revenue Service. The racer also allegedly took large expense deductions for his father, Helio Castroneves Sr.