The Department of Justice filed fresh criminal charges against US President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, on Thursday (Dec 7), which condemned him for not paying $1.4 million in taxes and rather spending money on a lavish lifestyle.
As per an indictment filed in US District Court in Central California, Hunter was charged with three felony and six misdemeanour tax offences.
If convicted, he would face up to 17 years in prison. The Justice Department said its probe into Hunter is ongoing.
“The Defendant 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,” the indictment read.
It added that Biden had “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills.”
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.”
The charges that were filed on Thursday stated that Hunter had “earned handsomely” whilst he was serving on the boards of a Ukrainian industrial cartel and a Chinese private equity fund.
However, as his income increased, his expenditures also kept increasing, according to the indictment.
Hunter Biden, in 2018 alone “spent more than $1.8 million, including approximately $772,000 in cash withdrawals, approximately $383,000 in payments to women, approximately $151,000 in clothing and accessories” among other expenditures, read the indictment.
“The Defendant did not use any of these funds to pay his taxes in 2018,” it further added.
Earlier in October, Hunter pleaded not guilty to the charges in Delaware which stated that he lied about his drug use while buying a handgun, in the first criminal prosecution of a sitting US president’s child.
(With inputs from agencies)
