Grand jury indicts Hunter Biden on 9 federal tax counts in US state of California

By Darren Lyn

HOUSTON, United States (AA) - A federal grand jury indicted Hunter Biden on nine separate counts of tax crimes Thursday in the US state of California.

"Hunter Biden engaged in a four-year scheme in which he chose not to pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019 and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns," prosecutors said in a statement.

Biden was charged with three felony counts, including tax evasion and filing a false return. He was also indicted on six misdemeanor charges for failure to pay taxes.

It is Biden's second indictment from special counsel David Weiss, as he faces mounting scrutiny concerning his financial dealings.

The indictment spelled out exactly what prosecutors alleged Biden did to further his scheme, that he "subverted the payroll and tax withholding process of his own company by withdrawing millions outside of the payroll and tax withholding process."

Prosecutors also alleged that Biden "spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills."

Court filings showed Biden made $7 million between 2016 and 2020.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 17 years in prison.

The special counsel's investigation into Biden is ongoing.