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.
Help Truthout resist the new McCarthyism
The Trump administration is cracking down on political dissent. Under pressure from an array of McCarthy-style tactics, academics, activists and nonprofits face significant threats for speaking out or organizing in resistance.
Truthout is appealing for your support to weather this storm of censorship. We’ve launched a fundraising campaign to find 362 new monthly donors in the next 5 days. Will you be one?
As independent media with no corporate backing or billionaire ownership, Truthout is uniquely able to push back against the right-wing narrative and expose the shocking extent of political repression under the new McCarthyism. We’re committed to doing this work, but we’re also deeply vulnerable to Trump’s attacks.
Your support during our fundraiser (5 days left) will help us continue our nonprofit movement journalism in the face of right-wing authoritarianism. Please make a tax-deductible donation today.