Hunter Biden was charged with a total of nine criminal counts \u2013 three felony tax offences and six misdemeanour tax offences \u2013 and faces a maximum penalty of 17 years in prison if convicted, according to an indictment filed in US District Court in Central California.<\/p>\n
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The legal clouds hanging over Hunter Biden come as President Joe Biden is looking to run for the White House again.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n The department said its investigation into Biden is ongoing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe defendant engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019,\u201d the indictment read.<\/p>\n It added that he had \u201cspent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills\u201d.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Special Counsel David Weiss and a lawyer for Hunter Biden did not immediately reply for requests for comment.<\/p>\n Hunter Biden in October pleaded not guilty to charges that he lied about his drug use while buying a handgun, in the first criminal prosecution of a sitting US president\u2019s child.<\/p>\n Weiss brought those charges against Hunter Biden after an earlier proposed plea deal unravelled under questioning from a judge. Weiss is still investigating whether the younger Biden can be charged for tax law violations.<\/p>\n The special counsel investigating Hunter has employed a grand jury in Los Angeles to seek documents and possible testimony from multiple witnesses as part of the federal investigation of Hunter Biden\u2019s business dealings, CNN reported last month.<\/p>\n