Shocking Tax Fraud Bombshell Rocks Trial of Ex-FBI Informant Linked to Biden Probe

A California man, previously accused by prosecutors of providing false information to federal agents and making fake criminal claims against President Biden and his son Hunter, is now facing new tax evasion charges brought by special counsel David Weiss, according to court documents.

By Sheenu Gupta On Nov 28, 2024 Share with new partner:

A man from California, Alexander Smirnov, is facing new charges of tax evasion after being accused by prosecutors of lying to federal agents and fabricating criminal allegations against President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. According to court documents, these new charges have been brought against Smirnov by special counsel David Weiss.

Smirnov had worked as an FBI informant for approximately ten years, providing information to federal investigators. His defense attorneys have argued in court that this demonstrated his “undivided, years-long loyalty to the United States.”

However, in a February 2024 indictment, Weiss — the U.S. attorney for Delaware appointed by President Trump and later retained during the Biden administration before being promoted to special counsel — alleged that Smirnov had made false claims to his FBI handlers about Hunter and President Biden, starting in 2020. These fabricated allegations were a central part of the indictment and have now led to the addition of tax evasion charges.

Smirnov stands accused of providing false information to investigators by claiming that both President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden had each received $5 million in payments from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. According to the legal documents filed against him, these allegations were fabricated, and Smirnov was fully aware that the claims he made were untrue.

Alexander Smirnov, who is reportedly originally from Ukraine, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. His defense team has filed court documents claiming that the charges were brought against him in retaliation for the rejection of a plea deal involving Hunter Biden. Currently, Smirnov remains in pretrial detention as he awaits trial.

On November 21, just weeks before Smirnov was scheduled to stand trial on December 3, federal prosecutors from Special Counsel David Weiss’ office filed an additional indictment against him. This new indictment, which had not received much attention at the time, alleges that Smirnov illegally concealed millions of dollars in income from the IRS between 2020 and 2022. According to the indictment, Smirnov used this unreported income to make purchases, including a Las Vegas apartment, a Bentley, and to pay off credit card debt.

Although the specific sources of Smirnov’s funds were not fully disclosed, the timing and amounts of his payments from a company referred to as “Company 1” in the court filing appear to match payments Smirnov allegedly received from Economic Transformation Technologies Corporation, which was also named in documents from his other case. However, the new charges do not accuse Economic Transformation Technologies Corporation of any wrongdoing. Additionally, some of Smirnov’s income was reported to have come from an unnamed individual.

The indictment further accuses Smirnov of deliberately falsifying his income by submitting false tax returns for both himself and his domestic partner. These fabricated returns, filed as Forms 1040 for the years 2020, 2021, and 2022, included incorrect income and expense information as part of his efforts to hide the millions of dollars he allegedly received. The new indictment, spanning 27 pages, outlines these claims in detail.

According to recently released court records, the trial of Alexander Smirnov, overseen by District Court Judge Otis Wright, has been delayed. The judge held a status conference on Tuesday, during which he rescheduled the trial concerning Smirnov’s alleged false statements to federal agents. The trial, which was originally set for December, will now take place in January.

In response to the new tax evasion charges, Smirnov’s attorney, David Chesnoff, told that Smirnov plans to “vigorously defend this case,” echoing his intent to fight the original false statements charges as well. When approached for comment, a spokesperson for Special Counsel David Weiss declined to provide any remarks.

Earlier this year, prosecutors argued that Smirnov’s false claims about the Bidens had been documented in an FBI record known as an FD 1023. This document had been highlighted by congressional Republicans, who claimed it provided evidence of bribery and pushed for its public release. However, the FBI has since indicated that the allegations in the document were fabricated. Smirnov’s defense team, in turn, has accused the case of being influenced by political bias, though prosecutors have strongly rejected this, asserting that Smirnov has not provided any evidence to support his claims, which they describe as meritless.

The special counsel’s office has also raised concerns about Smirnov’s credibility. In court filings, prosecutors noted that Smirnov had informed the FBI of his contacts with foreign intelligence officials, including those from Russian intelligence agencies, and claimed these contacts were recent. Smirnov’s defense team has dismissed these allegations, calling them unfounded.

Law enforcement experts have suggested that given Smirnov’s questionable credibility, an audit of all cases he was involved in may be necessary. It has previously been reported that doubts about Smirnov’s trustworthiness had been raised nearly a decade ago, though the FBI chose not to comment on this investigation when approached earlier this year.

Meanwhile, David Weiss, the special counsel overseeing Smirnov’s case, had already secured a conviction against Hunter Biden earlier this year in Delaware for illegal gun possession. Additionally, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax fraud in a separate case in California. Both cases are set for sentencing later this month. These developments followed a lengthy legal struggle between Weiss’s office and Hunter Biden’s defense team, particularly after an earlier plea agreement collapsed and was rejected by a federal judge in 2023.

Weiss has faced criticism from some members of Congress and whistleblowers regarding his handling of the Hunter Biden investigations, which have become a focal point of political debate.