Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, has been faced with multiple felony charges related to his taxes.
The charges emerged from a federal investigation and were reported by CNN on Thursday night. Hunter Biden is facing nine counts, including failing to file and pay taxes, evasion of assessment, and submitting a false or fraudulent tax return.
The charges are a result of an investigation led by Special Counsel David Weiss, who had convened a federal grand jury in Los Angeles to consider evidence related to potential tax crimes. Court documents reveal that Hunter Biden is accused of a four-year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for the years 2016 through 2019.
Prosecutors claim that despite having access to funds to pay these taxes, Hunter Biden “willfully failed” to do so. Over this period, he reportedly made over $7 million, a portion of which was received from Burisma, CEFC China Energy, and others. Prosecutors stated that instead of paying taxes, the funds were spent on personal indulgences such as drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of personal nature.
Earlier in September, Hunter Biden was indicted on federal gun charges after a plea deal between prosecutors and his legal team fell through. The deal collapsed when U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the extent of Hunter’s immunity under the agreement. The charges stemmed from an incident in October 2018 when Hunter claimed he was free of drugs to purchase a handgun, despite admitting in his memoir that he was addicted to crack cocaine at the time.
