Hunter Biden charged with $1.4 million tax evasion

The US president's son faces nine tax-related counts, which could potentially land him in jail for 17 years

The US Department of Justice has filed nine new charges against Hunter Biden, including failure to file and pay taxes, tax evasion, and filing a false return. The authorities claim that the president’s son had been using the money to lead an “extravagant lifestyle.”

In September, the 53-year-old became the first child of a serving US head of state to have criminal charges brought against him. That case revolves around allegations that Biden lied about his drug use when purchasing a firearm. He has also previously faced misdemeanor tax-related charges.

On Thursday, the Department of Justice and US Attorney David Weiss, who is a special counsel leading a long-running investigation into the president’s son, released a statement, saying a federal grand jury in the Central District of California had returned the indictment charging Hunter Biden with three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses.

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According to the court document, the president’s son “engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019,” spending “millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills.”

That supposedly included “drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature,” including over $70,000 on drug rehabilitation.

The press release pointed out that Hunter Biden had “earned handsomely” while serving on the boards of Ukrainian industrial conglomerate Burisma, as well as a Chinese company, CEFC China Energy Co Ltd. The authorities believe that, between 2016 and October 2020, Biden raked in more than $7 million in total gross income, meaning that he had “access to funds to pay some or all of these taxes.”

The document revealed that the president’s son could face a maximum of 17 years behind bars, if found guilty on all counts.

The White House has declined to comment on Thursday’s indictment, while Hunter Biden’s defense attorney Abbe Lowell claimed that the charges against his client were politically motivated. He suggested that Weiss, who was nominated as a US attorney by President Donald Trump back in 2017, “bowed to Republican pressure.”

Hunter Biden’s alleged violations have been casting a shadow over his father’s political career for some time now, with Republicans accusing the president’s family of corruption.