WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Friday sued Roger Stone, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, accusing Stone and his wife of owing nearly $2 million in unpaid income taxes.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, says the couple underpaid their income taxes by $1,590,361 from 2007 to 2011. It further says Stone did not pay his full tax bill in 2018, coming up $407,036 short.
Stone, a well-known GOP political operative, briefly served as a campaign adviser to Trump.
“The Stones evaded and frustrated the (Internal Revenue Service’s) collection efforts” by repeatedly funneling money to a corporate entity they controlled called Drake Ventures, investigators wrote. Stone and his wife then used Drake Ventures account to “fund a lavish lifestyle despite owing nearly $2 million in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties,” they wrote.According to the complaint, the Stones allegedly used the Drake Ventures account to pay for personal expenses like spa visits, haircuts, groceries, restaurants and dentist appointments.
“The governments statement is preposterous,” Stone said in a statement to CNN. “They are well aware that my two year struggle against the Epically corrupt Mueller investigation has left my wife and I on the verge of bankruptcy. I have continued to eke out a living through my company Drake Ventures. To describe my current lifestyle as ‘lavish’ will be proved to be ridiculous in court. The political motivation of the DOJ Will be abundantly clear at trial.”
