Alexander Smirnov, ex-FBI informant charged with lying about Biden family business, faces new tax charges
The former FBI informant charged by special counsel David Weiss for allegedly lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden's business dealings is facing a separate new indictment on tax-related charges, court records show.
Alexander Smirnov is alleged to have evaded paying taxes on more than $2 million in income he received from multiple sources between 2020 and 2022, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday in California federal court.
Smirnov was set to face trial beginning next week in Los Angeles on charges he concocted "fabrications" about President Biden and his son accepting $5 million in bribes from the Ukraine energy company Burisma, which Republicans repeatedly sought to seize on in their yearslong effort to impeach the president. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
That trial has since been pushed to January by the federal judge overseeing Smirnov's case.
The newly unsealed indictment paints Smirnov as living a lavish lifestyle during the years he was allegedly also peddling lies to his FBI handler about the Biden family -- detailing expenditures that include a $1.4 million Las Vegas condominium, a Bentley he allegedly leased for over $122,000, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of clothes, jewelry and accessories he allegedly purchased for himself and his domestic partner.
Despite receiving more than $2 million in revenue streams, prosecutors say that on a credit card application in June of 2022 he listed only $60,000 in total annual income and $250,000 in gross business income.
The indictment further alleges that when Smirnov sought the assistance of a professional tax return preparer who refused to sign his returns, Smirnov told the preparer that they "should not inquire about how he earned his income," and further instructed them to delete any emails or messages sent by Smirnov.
"Mr. Smirnov intends to vigorously fight these allegations with the same intensity as he has fought the original indictment," Smirnov's attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, said in a statement.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Smirnov had not yet entered a plea to the newly filed indictment, according to court records.
Smirnov has remained detained since his arrest in February, on the belief that he poses a flight risk due to his extensive overseas contacts that allegedly include known senior intelligence agents in Russia.
