Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, was charged late Thursday with seven charges of tax evasion, the second time this year, by a special counsel examining his personal and business transactions.
Hunter Biden “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,” special counsel David Weiss said in the 56-page indictment filed in US district court in California.
According to the indictment, Biden was charged with nine charges of failing to file and pay taxes, tax evasion, and filing fake tax returns.
The fresh charges add to Joe Biden’s discomfort as he fights for reelection and a Republican attempt to impeach him on the basis that he benefited from his son’s offshore business transactions.
Previously, the son was accused of lying about his drug usage on a federal application when he purchased a rifle.
The latest allegations mean that Hunter Biden might face two trials next year, when his father is almost surely running for president against Donald Trump.
Despite his son’s difficult history, the US president has stated that he supports him.
According to the new indictment, he earned more than $7 million between 2016 and 2020 and spent it on a lavish lifestyle. “The defendant spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle at the same time he chose not to pay his taxes,” the indictment states.
It added, “Between 2016 and October 15, 2020, the defendant spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature—in short, everything but his taxes.”
