The Justice Department has sued Roger Stone, the former former adviser to former President Donald Trump, claiming that he and his wife owe nearly $ 2 million in unpaid federal taxes and other fees.
Stone and Nydia Stone accuse the lawsuit of using an “alter ego” company in an attempt to protect their personal income from forced collection and finance a lavish lifestyle.
The civil complaint also alleges that the Stones ‘were intended to defraud the United States’ through a fraudulent transfer of money used to buy their home.
Stone, 68, a longtime Republican politician, was pardoned by Trump in December after being convicted of lying to Congress.
According to the DOJ’s complaint, which was filed in federal court in southern Florida, Stone and his wife are paid their federal income taxes for five consecutive years, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that Stone did not pay his full tax bill in 2018, when he filed separately from his spouse. He owes $ 407,036.84 in income taxes, interest and fines for that year, the indictment reads.
“Despite notice and demand for payment, Roger and Nydia Stone failed and refused to pay the full amount of their liabilities,” the DOJ claims.
Stone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The complaint alleges that the Stones “evaded and frustrated” the IRS’s collection efforts through their use of a limited liability Delaware company called Drake Ventures. The company is “dominated and controlled” by the family “to such an extent that it does not exist as an independent entity”, the DOJ claims.
Drake Ventures has no website or phone number; all its members are part of Stone’s family and his address is the same as the home of Stones in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the complaint reads.
“The Stones used Drake Ventures’ bank accounts to pay a significant amount of their personal expenses, including groceries, dental bills, spas, salons, clothing and restaurant expenses,” according to the indictment.
They also paid more than $ 500,000 of their personal tax liabilities through Drake Ventures’ bank accounts in 2018 and 2019, and they used the company to pay Stone’s associates and family members without providing the proper paperwork, the DOJ claims.
“The Stones used Drake Ventures for an improper purpose and damage to the United States,” according to the complaint. “They use Drake Ventures to receive payment that is personally payable to Roger Stone, pay their personal expenses, protect their assets, and prevent them from reporting taxable income to the IRS.”
The DOJ’s lawsuit also accuses the Stones of fraudulently moving their home through a revocable Florida trust they created, called the Bertran Trust.
The plaintiff agreed with the IRS in May 2017 to pay $ 19,485 a month for their unpaid taxes.
After Stone was charged in January 2019, his family set up the Bertran Trust and bought their home in his name, with money they transferred from Drake Ventures to the entity to make a $ 140,000 deposit.
In March 2019, the Stones did not pay their monthly payment to the IRS, which asked the agency to scrap the installment plan.
“The Stones intended to defraud the United States by maintaining their assets in Drake Ventures’ accounts, which they completely controlled, and using the assets to buy the Stone Residence in the name of the Bertran Trust,” it said. claimed in the complaint.
The DOJ says that ‘numerous signs of fraud’ mean the purchase. According to the complaint, the Stones were insolvent and could not pay their debts; facing the threat of litigation; and expects the IRS ‘to resort to the forced collection of their unpaid tax liabilities as soon as they have not paid their monthly installment.’