WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department has filed a civil lawsuit against Roger Stone and his wife, accusing them of owing nearly $2 million in unpaid federal income taxes.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, claims Stone and his wife, Nydia, underpaid their income taxes from 2007 to 2011 and owe $1,590,361 in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties. The lawsuit also alleged Stone underpaid his 2018 tax bill and owes $407,036.84.
The Justice Department also claimed that the Stones used a commercial entity called Drake Ventures "to shield their personal income from enforced collection and fund a lavish lifestyle despite owing nearly $2 million in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties."
"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 Justice Department alleged in the suit.
Stone, a longtime GOP political operative and ally of former President Donald Trump, was convicted of lying to Congress about his efforts to gain inside information about the release by WikiLeaks of Russia-hacked Democratic emails during the 2016 campaign. Trump granted Stone a presidential pardon in December, months after commuting Stone's sentence.
