Hunter Biden hit with NINE tax evasion charges and could face 17 years in prison
Hunter Biden is facing the charges in California
Reuters
A second criminal case against Hunter Biden has been filed by federal prosecutors.
The nine-count indictment says he schemed to evade at least $1.4million (£1.1million) in federal taxes from 2016-19.
The three felonies and six misdemeanours include failure to file and pay taxes, false tax return and evasion of assessment.
The 53-year-old son of President Joe Biden was indicted in September on federal firearm charges in Delaware, for which he has already pleaded not guilty.
The White House did not comment on the new charges
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It comes as congressional Republicans have placed Hunter Biden's business dealings at the centre of an impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
Hunter Biden, a Yale-educated lawyer and recovering crack cocaine addict since 2019, is being investigated by US Department of Justice special counsel David Weiss.
Biden could face up to 17 years in prison if convicted in the tax case.
The White House did not comment on the new charges on Thursday night.
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Hunter Biden could be facing up to 17 years in prison if convicted
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Prosecutors allege he spent his 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" in a 56-page indictment filed in California.
They say the president's son "individually received more than $7million (£5.57million) in total gross income" between 2016 and 2020.
However, he "wilfully failed to pay his 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 taxes on time, despite having access to funds to pay some or all of these taxes".
Hunter Biden's attorney Abbe Lowell said: "If Hunter's last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought".
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With the help of a loan from his personal attorney, Hunter Biden eventually paid all his taxes and fines back in 2020.
A chart inside the indictment outlines what Hunter Biden spent his money on, including over $188,000 for "adult entertainment" and over $683,000 on "payments - various women".
Prosecutors allege Hunter Biden "continued to earn handsomely and to spend wildly in 2018".
The indictment notes he made "substantial" income, including from a company he formed with a Chinese business conglomerate, the Ukrainian energy company Burisma and an unnamed Romanian businessperson.
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