John Carew: former Aston Villa footballer jailed over tax evasion - sentencing, career and net worth explained

John Carew, the former Aston Villa footballer, has been sentenced to 14 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of tax evasion in Norway. The former striker admitted he had failed to report taxable income and assets of around £26.7million between 2014 and 2019 as he thought he did not need to pay tax there as he lived abroad.

Prosecutors, however, have provided evidence showing he was in Norway more than 183 days a year during this time, which made him eligible to pay tax. He has been sentenced to 14 months as well as ordered to pay a fine of £46,000.

Carew, 43, spent the majority of his career at Aston Villa but also enjoyed spells at Stoke City and West Ham as well as Valencia and Roma. The striker also made 91 international appearances for Norway, scoring 24 times. Since retiring from football, he has also starred in films and Norwegian TV series.

Who is John Carew?

Carew was born in Lorenskog, Norway, in 1979 and started his early youth career there before moving to Valerenga in 1997 to pursue a professional career. He played 58 matches, scoring 38 goals at his time in Valerenga before moving to Norway’s most successful club of the past decade, Rosenborg.

He was only at Rosenborg for a short-while (1999-2000) but helped the team to finish top of their UEFA Champions League group in 2000.

From Rosenborg, Carew then started moving around Europe and began with Valencia from 2000. During his time at the Spanish side, they won the La Liga title once in 2002 and reached the final of the UEFA Champions League Final. After a four year stint in Spain, Carew then moved to Roma, Besiktas and Lyon before finally making his way to the Premier League in 2007.

After a disappointing start to Carew’s first full season, the striker ended the year as their top goalscorer and became a firm stay at the top until towards the end of 2011. Following 113 league appearances for Villa, he was then sent on loan to Stoke before signing with West Ham in 2011.

West Ham released Carew at the end of the 2012 season and shortly after Carew announced he was retiring. Carew also made 91 appearances for his country, scoring 24 goals in the process.

John Carew, the actor

Following his career on the pitch, Carew starred in his first feature film, a Canadian horror, called Dead of Winter, as well as starring in a successful Norwegian TV series, Heimebane. Carew also played the role of Jungle Warrior in Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, alongside Angelina Jolie in 2019.

Tax Evasion

In June 2020, Carew’s appartment was searched by authorities investigating his tax arrangements and a subsequent lower court trial began in October 2022. Carew told the court that he had been following the advice of his former agent.

A statement from Carew’s lawyer Berti Reiss-Anderson said: “The court has concluded that he acted with gross negligence, but not with intent. We have argued this all along, and Carew made it clear that he wanted to set things straight.”

It was also added that Carew will read through the ruling in detail before deciding whether to appeal. According to IdolNetWorth, Carew has an estimated networth of $15million.