(NEW YORK) — Special counsel David Weiss leveled a nine-count indictment against Hunter Biden late Thursday, accusing President Joe Biden’s son of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2020.
The charges, which carry a penalty of up to 17 years in prison, include six misdemeanor charges and three felonies, including alleged tax evasion and filing a false return.
The sprawling 56-page indictment alleges that Hunter Biden earned millions of dollars from foreign entities in Ukraine, Romania and China and “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle at the same time he chose not to pay his taxes.”
Prosecutors sought to demonstrate that Hunter Biden had the means to pay his taxes from 2016 to 2020, but instead chose to spend his money elsewhere, including $683,212 in “Payments — Various Women,” another $397,530 on “Clothing & Accessories,” and $188,960 on “Adult Entertainment.”
Hunter Biden “also used the business line of credit to make $27,316 in payments to an online pornography website, which in total accounted for one fifth of all of the business line of credit expenditures,” prosecutors wrote.
ABC News previously reported that Hunter Biden borrowed $2 million from his lawyer and confidant Kevin Morris to pay the IRS for back taxes, penalties and liens that he owed.
Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Hunter Biden, framed the indictment as including “no new evidence” and a result of Weiss “[bowing] to Republican pressure.”
“Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought,” Lowell said in a statement.
Prosecutors signaled their intention to bring tax-related charges against the president’s son months ago after plea negotiations broke down. A Los Angeles-based grand jury has since issued a subpoena to James Biden, the brother of President Biden, as part of their work investigating Hunter Biden, a source familiar with the matter said.
Weiss’ office filed a felony gun indictment against Biden in September. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.