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California man selling Stan Lee signed memorabilia sentenced to prison for $1.2-million tax fraud

Stan Lee, creator of Spider–Man sits in miniature car next to a Spider–Man with larger Spider–Man poster behind at his office
Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider–Man, sits in his Marvel Comics office in August 1998.
(Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

A Riverside County man was sentenced Thursday to more than a year in prison for tax fraud after selling memorabilia signed by comic book legend and Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee, according to authorities.

Mac Martin Anderson, a 59-year-old Corona resident, was sentenced to a year and one day in federal prison after allegedly getting more than $1.2 million in proceeds that he never reported to the IRS, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Anderson was also ordered to pay $482,833 in restitution.

Anderson pleaded guilty in March to two counts of willfully subscribing to a false tax return, according to authorities. Between 2015 and 2028, Anderson had a personal relationship with Lee and sold Marvel items that had Lee’s autograph to dealers, brokers and fans.

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Anderson got an income of about $1.236 million from selling the memorabilia between 2015 and 2018 and admitted that the tax that was due was about $482,833, according to the release.

Lee helped spearhead Marvel Comics’ transformation in the 1960s into a powerhouse brand. He helped introduce Spider-Man to Marvel in August 1962. He was later credited as associate producer on movies starring Marvel characters including Iron Man, X-Men and Captain America, in addition to Spider-Man.

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