The United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Friday afternoon alleging longtime GOP operative and political “dirty trickster” Roger Stone owes nearly $2 million in unpaid federal income tax.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Fort Lauderdale, the civil lawsuit seeks from Stone and his wife, Nydia Stone, “nearly $2 million in unpaid taxes, interest, and penalties.”
“By depositing and transferring these funds into the Drake Ventures’ accounts instead of their personal accounts, the Stones evaded and frustrated the IRS’s collection efforts,” the six-page civil lawsuit states. The suit further claims that Sone, alongside his wife, used a shell company, “Drake Ventures,” to ultimately “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
“They used Drake Ventures to receive payments that are payable to Roger Stone personally, pay their personal expenses, shield their assets, and avoid reporting taxable income to the IRS,” the lawsuit further outlines.
The latest trouble isn’t “an accusation of criminality,” as CNN noted, but Stone isn’t a stranger to landing in legal trouble. The GOP operative was not too long ago convicted of lying to Congress and witness tampering, but then later pardoned by former President Donald Trump.
Stone didn’t return Salon’s request for comment on Friday evening about the freshly filed lawsuit.
The most recent news comes as Stone prepared to be the headline act this weekend at the pro-Trump boat parade “Trumparilla” in Tampa Bay, Florida, where he was reportedly preparing to make a grand entrance via parachute. This past week Stone attempted to turn down the volume of his support for Rep. Matt Gaetz after previously telling the congressman amid scandal to go on “offense.”
For reference, Stone would need to sell 20,000 of his Cameo videos to fans to make the $2 million he alleges owes, only to then fork over to the federal government, which will prove to be a challenge at his current rate of selling videos. Alternatively, Stone could sell nearly 134,000 rocks (“stones”) at $15 a pop with his signature on them to pay off his debt.
We’re resisting Trump’s authoritarian pressure.
As the Trump administration moves a mile-a-minute to implement right-wing policies and sow confusion, reliable news is an absolute must.
Truthout is working diligently to combat the fear and chaos that pervades the political moment. We’re requesting your support at this moment because we need it – your monthly gift allows us to publish uncensored, nonprofit news that speaks with clarity and truth in a moment when confusion and misinformation are rampant. As well, we’re looking with hope at the material action community activists are taking. We’re uplifting mutual aid projects, the life-sustaining work of immigrant and labor organizers, and other shows of solidarity that resist the authoritarian pressure of the Trump administration.
As we work to dispel the atmosphere of political despair, we ask that you contribute to our journalism. Over 80 percent of Truthout’s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.