A California Man Faces New Charges of Tax Evasion

Alexander Smirnov, a California man who previously served as an FBI informant, is now facing new charges of tax evasion. The charges were filed by special counsel David Weiss, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to continue the investigation into Hunter Biden.

Smirnov was previously indicted in February 2024 on charges of making false claims to the FBI about Hunter Biden and President Biden. He pleaded not guilty to those charges and remains in pretrial detention.

The new indictment alleges that Smirnov concealed millions of dollars in income from the IRS between 2020 and 2022. He allegedly spent this unreported income on a Las Vegas apartment, a Bentley, and credit card debt payments.

Smirnov's attorney, David Chesnoff, said that his client intends to vigorously defend the new charges. A spokesperson for Weiss declined to comment.

The new charges against Smirnov come amid mounting questions about his credibility. Law enforcement experts have called for an audit of every case in which he was involved, and a CBS News investigation published earlier this year revealed that serious doubts about Smirnov's credibility were raised almost a decade ago.

Smirnov's case is part of a larger investigation into Hunter Biden, which has been criticized by members of Congress and whistleblowers. The special counsel, David Weiss, has secured a conviction against Hunter Biden in Delaware on illegal gun charges and a guilty plea from the president's son in a second case in California in which Hunter Biden admitted to tax fraud. He is set to be sentenced in both cases later this month.

Additional Information

Smirnov was born in Ukraine.

He was an FBI informant for about a decade.

He is accused of lying to the FBI about the Bidens and making false claims about his income.

He faces charges of tax evasion and making false statements to the FBI.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

His trial on the false statements charges has been delayed until January.

He is set to be sentenced in the gun and tax fraud cases later this month.

Sources

CBS News

Court records

Justice Department