The longtime Trump ally says the suit is ‘politically motivated’
The Justice Department sued longtime Trump ally Roger Stone and his wife, Nydia, in a civil lawsuit on Friday, alleging the couple owes unpaid taxes plus interest and penalties to the tune of nearly $2 million.
The feds accuse the Stones of using fraudulent measures to dodge paying up, but Mr. Stone says the suit is “politically motivated.”
The complaint filed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, claims that the Stones underpaid their taxes in the years 2007 through 2011, and in 2018, and that they owe roughly $1.997 million in unpaid taxes, fines and interest.
NBC News noted that “the government also said the Stones at one point entered into an agreement to cover taxes owed through monthly installments of nearly $20,000, but stopped paying.”
The suit also accuses the Stones of moving more than $1 million of their personal funds to an LLC they own, called Drake Ventures, which the DOJ says “evaded and frustrated the IRS’s collection efforts.”
The Stones then allegedly paid “a substantial amount of their personal expenses” from the Drake Ventures accounts, according to the feds.
The lawsuit further states:
Although they used funds held in Drake Ventures accounts to pay some of their taxes, the Stones’ use of Drake Ventures to hold their funds allowed them to shield their personal income from enforced collection and fund a lavish lifestyle despite owing nearly $2 million in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties.
The suit was “commenced at the direction of the Attorney General of the United States,” Merrick Garland.
