Longtime Trump ally Roger Stone is in serious legal trouble — again. Not long after his pardon from then-President Donald Trump in the wake of a conviction on a slew of obstruction of justice-related charges, Stone has now been hit with a lawsuit from the Department of Justice claiming that the Stones owe almost $2 million in back taxes and associated penalties. According to the federal lawsuit, Stone and his wife, Nydia, have used an LLC to “shield their personal income from enforced collection and fund a lavish lifestyle.”
DOJ filed a lawsuit today against ex-Trump adviser Roger Stone saying he owes nearly $2 million in unpaid taxes and penalties and that he and his wife used an LLC to "shield their personal income from enforced collection and fund a lavish lifestyle." pic.twitter.com/HrGXciIMcV
— Brad Heath (@bradheath) April 16, 2021
The Stones’ scheme, apparently, was rather blunt — in 2018 and 2019, they moved over $1 million into accounts associated with their LLC, and then they used the LLC’s accounts for personal expenses. The case is a civil rather than a criminal proceeding, meaning that the Stones aren’t facing federal criminal charges, but the Justice Department nevertheless insists in their new filing that Stone and his wife “intended to defraud the United States by maintaining their assets in” their LLC’s accounts, “which they completely controlled.” According to authorities, they also “[used] their assets to purchase the Stone Residence in the name of the Bertran Trust,” which Nydia has had control over.
DOJ straight-up accuses Roger Stone and his wife of fraud. (This is a civil case, though.) pic.twitter.com/naAzAqjRJk
— Brad Heath (@bradheath) April 16, 2021
As summarized by Law360, federal authorities have “requested that all tax liens issued by the IRS on the Stones’ property, including their residence, be enforceable, and that the court find the couple liable for the taxes assessed plus penalties and interest.” The Stones originally set up and were abiding by an agreement to pay off their taxes at a rate of $20,000 a month — but in March 2019, they defaulted on the agreement, leaving the situation as it stands at present.
A reaction from Stone was not immediately available. He has, however, frequently sought to paint himself as some kind of victim throughout his various legal travails. Stone wasn’t the only ally of the former president who received a presidential pardon before Trump left office — ex-Trump adviser Michael Flynn and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort also did, among others. Stone and Flynn have been among those who have prominently spread the lie that that the 2020 presidential election was somehow rigged for Biden.
