Hunter Biden, the son of President Biden, is under investigation of a second indictment by special counsel David Weiss, this time on tax-related allegations. The younger Biden may face two trials in 2019 while his father is running for reelection due to the ongoing ramifications from a failed plea agreement last summer.
As part of a special counsel investigation into Hunter Biden’s business operations, Hunter Biden was charged on nine tax charges in California on Thursday. Nine counts total—three felonies and six misdemeanors—of tax evasion, failing to file and pay taxes, and filing fraudulent tax returns were brought against the president’s son by a grand jury in California.
Prosecutors accuse Hunter Biden of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016 through 2019. According to the 56-page indictment, Hunter Biden earned more than $7 million in gross income between 2016 and 2020 from foreign business deals, including payments for his service on the board of the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma and his work for a Chinese energy conglomerate. He also received another $1.2 million in 2020 and spent the money to fund an “extravagant lifestyle,” including drugs, escorts and girlfriends, exotic cars and clothing, the indictment alleges.
Instead of paying his tax bills, however, prosecutors allege that Hunter Biden failed to file taxes on time for a number of years. When he finally filed his tax returns in 2018, the indictment alleges, they included false business deductions that reduced his tax liability.
Some of the conduct described in the indictment dates to when Hunter Biden had said he was struggling with depression and addicted to drugs. But prosecutors charge that even after he has said he was sober and building a new life in Los Angeles, he failed to fully pay taxes he owed.
