IN THE NEWS (UPDATE)
Nearly three years after the consent judgment, how much of the $2.1M have the Stones’ repaid?
Did you know that the “consent judgment” in Stone’s federal case, as issued by Judge Rodolfo Ruiz isn’t worth the paper it’s written on, as it ain’t a FINAL JUDGMENT.
Compare Judge Ruiz (SDFL) with a proper final judgment with integrated consent order, for example the FINAL JUDGMENT in the case Securities and Exchange Commission v. Wong (1:24-cv-04231) District Court, S.D. New York.
Was this intentional or just sheer incompetence by the federal court in Florida?
JUN 23, 2023
Hunter Biden’s plea deal on misdemeanor tax charges with the Justice Department has drawn scorn from Republicans who insist the president’s son got a cozy, lenient deal.
“It continues to show the two-tier system in America,”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told reporters Tuesday.
“If you are the president’s leading political opponent, the DOJ tries to literally put you in jail and give you prison time.
But if you are the president’s son, you get a sweetheart deal.”
But McCarthy and numerous other Republican lawmakers who’ve complained about Hunter Biden’s deal, which included his agreeing to enter a pre-trial diversion program for illegally possessing a handgun while he was addicted to drugs, have short, politically convenient memories.
According to the Justice Department’s press release announcing the charges, Hunter Biden failed to pay income taxes of more than $200,000 due in 2017 and 2018 on total taxable income of more than $3 million.
The New York Times reported in March 2022 that Hunter Biden told an associate he paid the tax liability of more than $1 million, and that he had to take out a loan to pay it off.
Nevertheless, Biden, 53, agreed to plead guilty to both tax charges.
Further, Politico has reported that prosecutors have agreed to dismiss the firearms charge if he successfully completes two years’ probation.
In contrast, look at how the Justice Department under President Biden treated the tax cases against Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort and Trump’s longtime political advisor Roger Stone.
NO CRIMINAL TAX CHARGES FOR STONE, WIFE
The government sued Stone and his wife, Nydia, in April 2021 for nearly $2 million in back taxes, penalties and interest.
For 15 years before that, during both Republican and Democratic administrations, the IRS had filed liens against the couple seeking to collect.
And for years, Roger Stone kept dodging – offering vague answers to inquiries and failing to hand over financial records sought by the government, arguing the Justice Department’s tax lawyers already had obtained that information from his accountant.
That, of course, was true. But the fact the government wanted to see Stone’s records, too, strongly suggested they thought Stone had provided false information to his accountant. If so, that would be a felony.
In court papers, the government also accused Stone and his wife of using a company they co-owned, Drake Ventures, “as their alter ego to shield their assets” and “fund a lavish lifestyle” while “fraudulently” transferring funds to buy their Fort Lauderdale residence on NE 18th Avenue.
In June 2022, three days after Fort Lauderdale U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II ordered the Stones to turn over various documents and provide better answers to government interrogatories, Roger Stone’s attitude changed.
His attorney announced without explanation that the Stones had offered to settle the case.
The deal, approved at the highest levels of the Justice Department because Stone was a subject in the ongoing criminal investigation of sedition and conspiracy arising from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump’s far-right supporters, called for the Stones to pay more than $2.1 million to settle the case.
Unlike Hunter Biden, the Stones were not charged with any tax crime.
The principal difference in their cases:
Biden twice failed to file annual income tax returns; the Stones filed all required tax returns, but failed to report their correct income six different years.
MANAFORT GOT OFF EASY, TOO
Roger Stone, however, was previously convicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller of lying to Congress about what he and Trump knew about Russian efforts to discredit Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign.
In the same case he was also convicted of witness tampering and obstruction of justice and was sentenced to 40 months in prison.
Trump commuted Stone’s sentence days before he was to report to prison in July 2020, and pardoned him for the crimes shortly before leaving office.
Paul Manafort received a pardon from Trump on the same day, Dec. 23, 2020.
Manafort, 74, of Palm Beach Gardens, agreed last March to pay $3.2 million to settle charges that he failed to disclose foreign bank accounts he used to funnel “millions of dollars” to himself without paying income taxes.
Specifically, Manafort was accused for his “willful” failure to file timely annual Foreign and Financial Accounts (FBAR) reports disclosing his ownership or control of more than three dozen offshore companies and accounts as required by the Bank Secrecy Act.
The penalties and interest assessed against him were for the years 2013 and 2014.
Those civil penalties arose from Manafort’s two convictions on charges that included tax and bank fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
Twice he was sentenced to prison, but on Dec. 20, 2020 President Trump pardoned Manafort for both convictions.
The criminal pardon, however, did not affect the civil penalties assessed in the cases brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
United States v. Stone
(0:21-cv-60825)
District Court, S.D. Florida
APR 16, 2021 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: APR 20, 2025 – 4 YEARS LATER UPDATE
CONSENT JUDGMENT
THIS CAUSE comes before the Court upon the parties’ Joint Motion for Entry of Consent Judgment [ECF No. 63] (“Motion”), filed on July 15, 2022.
Having carefully reviewed the Motion and being otherwise fully advised, it is hereby
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Motion is GRANTED as follows:
1. Judgment is entered against Roger and Nydia Stone jointly and severally in the amount of $1,657,808.63 as of July 12, 2022 for their unpaid income taxes, penalties, and interest for tax years 2007 through 2011, plus interest thereon as provided by 26 U.S.C. §§ 6601, 6621, and 6622 and any other statutory additions provided by law, less any payments or credits processed prior to the date of this Consent Judgment.
2. Judgment is entered against Roger Stone in the amount of $453,498.54 as of July 12, 2022 for his unpaid income tax, penalties, and interest for tax year 2018, plus interest thereon as provided by 26 U.S.C. §§ 6601, 6621, and 6622 and any other statutory additions provided by law, less any payments or credits processed prior to the date of this Consent Judgment.
3. The assets of the Bertran Family Revocable Trust, including the full extent of its interest in the Stone Residence, are available to satisfy judgments against Nydia Stone.
4. Tax liens that arose upon assessment of the taxes owed by Roger and Nydia Stone are valid and enforceable against all of the property held by Roger Stone; Nydia Stone; and the Bertran Family Revocable Trust, including the Stone Residence.
5. The United States’ claims against Drake Ventures LLC are dismissed without prejudice. Also, the United States’ Count III (Alter Ego Liability), Count IV (Fraudulent Transfer), and Count V (Nominee Liability) are dismissed without prejudice.
6. Each party shall bear its own costs and attorneys’ fees.
7. The Court retains jurisdiction to enter further orders as may be deemed necessary and proper to facilitate this Consent Judgment.
8. The Clerk is instructed to mark this case CLOSED, and any pending motions are
DENIED AS MOOT.
DONE AND ORDERED in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this 18th day of July, 2022.
RODOLFO A. RUIZ II
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Copies furnished:
All counsel of record
The docket is open but upon review on pacer it indicated the CASE IS CLOSED, MEDIATION.
Now mediation can defer the case, but without a final order, this case is OPEN, per controlling federal law.
| CLOSED,MEDIATION,PMH |
U.S. District Court
Southern District of Florida (Ft Lauderdale)
CIVIL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 0:21-cv-60825-RAR
| United States v. Stone et al Assigned to: Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz, II Referred to: Magistrate Judge Patrick M. Hunt Cause: 26:7403 Suit to Enforce Federal Tax Lien |
Date Filed: 04/16/2021 Date Terminated: 07/18/2022 Jury Demand: Defendant Nature of Suit: 870 Taxes Jurisdiction: U.S. Government Plaintiff |
| Date Filed | # | Docket Text |
|---|---|---|
| 08/05/2022 | 66 |
Notice of Reassignment of Assistant U.S. Attorney by Christopher J. Coulson on behalf of United States. Attorney Christopher J. Coulson terminated. (Coulson, Christopher) (Entered: 08/05/2022) |
| PACER Service Center | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Transaction Receipt | |||
| 04/20/2025 08:38:34 |
Roger Stone Seeks Stay in Tax Case Due to Wife’s Cancer
JUN 15, 2021 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: JUN 17, 2021
Roger Stone and his wife Nydia Stone—recently diagnosed with cancer—are seeking a 90-day stay in the government’s nearly $2 million tax case against them.
The Stones cited Nydia’s diagnosis with aggressive, advanced cancer as the reason for the stay, because neither would be able to “meaningfully participate” in the case.
Nydia Stone was hospitalized earlier this month, and her “short-term prognosis and health remain uncertain,” according to the document filed Tuesday.
The stay request is unopposed by the government, according to the document, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
The government sued the Stones in April for nearly $1.6 million in liabilities arising from joint returns filed for tax years 2007 to 2011, plus more than $400,000 that Roger Stone owes individually from 2018.
Post Edited: Fl. Lawyer Committed Criminal Mortgage Fraud which was Not Reported by Judge Marra https://t.co/GaB8fzE6nX
— LawsInTexas (@lawsintexasusa) April 17, 2021
Roger Stone was indicted in January 2019 on charges of obstruction, making false statements, and witness tampering connected to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Former President Donald Trump later granted Roger Stone a pardon.
A stay in the case would give the Stones time to evaluate a treatment plan, they said in the filing. Roger Stone is one of his wife’s primary caretakers, and the “sudden change” hampers his ability to participate in the case—including an answer, preparation of a defense, and discovery, the document said.
The case is United States v. Stone, S.D. Fla., No. 0:21-cv-60825-RAR, motion 6/15/21.
Woman Who Threatened to Kill VP Kamala Harris is Detained Due to Danger to Community
It’s only taken a year for Florida to detain a woman who sent threatening videos stating she was paid to assassinate VP Kamala Harris.
SCOTUS Intervene in the Denial of Intervention for Lack of Jurisdiction by Sixth Circuit
No provision of law limits the jurisdiction of federal appellate courts to allow intervention by a party who was not part of the litigation.
Another Key CFPB Executive Jeff Ehrlich Joins the Other Sides Legal Team: McGuireWoods
There’s not a single lawyer in government who has to abide by a non-compete agreement. Think about that for a minute, or two.
Magistrate Assigned To Roger Stone’s $2M Tax Case Recuses
U.S. magistrate judge Jared Strauss, assigned to Roger Stone’s $2 million unpaid tax suit in Florida recused himself from the case Wednesday. Strauss was appointed to the bench in 2019 and was a prosecutor (an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA)) in Broward before that. He graduated from Harvard in 2005.
The case was “randomly assigned” to a new magistrate, who happens to be the same magistrate (Judge Lurana S. Snow) on Stone’s last case in the very same court which would come to an abrupt end when Donald Trump pardoned Stone.
‘Dirty trickster’ Stone vows to fight charges filed by Mueller in Trump investigation
JANUARY 25, 2019 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT; JUNE 17, 2021
For a guy who got rousted out of bed Friday morning by FBI agents, Donald Trump confidant Roger Stone was as pugnacious as ever when he walked out of the Fort Lauderdale federal courthouse in the afternoon with his arms raised and fingers flashing “V” signs.
While some spectators chanted “Roger, Roger, Roger,” others booed and shouted “lock him up, lock him up.”
The courthouse stage was likely a surreal moment for the flamboyant political operative who has seen it all in a career dating back to the Nixon era.
Stone, a self-proclaimed “dirty trickster,” appeared defiant as he declared his innocence after being released on bond following his arrest Friday morning. He is charged with obstructing justice, tampering with a witness and lying to Congress in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible collusion with the Russian government during the 2016 presidential election.
Stone, dressed in a navy blue polo shirt and jeans, told a throng of news media members and spectators outside the courthouse that Mueller’s investigation was “politically motivated” and that he had been “falsely accused” of lying to the House Intelligence Committee.
Did you know…in less than 5 years, the number of complaints against judges in the 11th Circuit has more than DOUBLED in less than 5 years?
MORE THAN DATA, IT’S YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO REMOVE OUTLAWS IN ROBES FROM THE BENCH…https://t.co/Ywq38XB4Nj#OperationWhiteout pic.twitter.com/wK7jHO79CL
— LawsInTexas (@lawsintexasusa) June 13, 2021
The behind-the-scenes Trump adviser also declared he would not make any deal with the special counsel to testify against Trump, saying “there is no circumstance whatsoever under which I will bear false witness against the president nor will I make up lies to ease the pressure on myself.”
“I look forward to being fully and completely vindicated,” Stone, 66, said.
The seven-count indictment filed against Stone reveals fresh details on how Trump campaign associates in the summer of 2016 actively sought the release of emails that the special counsel says were hacked by Russian officers and then provided to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. The indictment says unidentified senior Trump campaign officials contacted Stone to ask when stolen emails relating to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton might be disclosed.
Mueller’s case alleges coverups and deception by Stone — not that he conspired with WikiLeaks or with the Russian officers accused of hacking the emails. Stone, instead, is accused of lying to congressional members in a May 2017 letter and in his September 2017 testimony about WikiLeaks’ activities. He is also accused of obstructing a congressional probe into whether the Trump campaign collaborated with Russia to sabotage the U.S. election to help him beat Clinton, as well as being accused of tampering with a congressional witness.
The indictment says Stone repeatedly discussed WikiLeaks with Trump campaign associates and details his conversations about emails stolen from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and posted online in the weeks before Trump defeated Clinton.
Prosecutors allege that Stone shared information about WikiLeaks’ strategy with Trump campaign associates, including senior aide Steve Bannon. The indictment says Stone exchanged emails with Bannon, who is referred to as a “high-ranking Trump campaign official.”
In addition, the indictment delves into what prosecutors say were Stone’s false statements to lawmakers about his conversations with Jerome Corsi, a conservative writer and conspiracy theorist, and Randy Credico, a New York radio host. They are identified in the indictment as “Person 1” and “Person 2,” respectively.
The indictment accuses Stone of carrying out a “prolonged effort” to keep Credico from contradicting Stone’s testimony before the House Intelligence Committee. Prosecutors claim that Stone repeatedly told Credico to “do a ‘Frank Pentangeli,’ ‘’ referring to the character in the “The Godfather: Part II” who lies before Congress. Stone is also accused of threatening Credico as well as his dog, Bianca.
On Friday, Trump and his defense team blasted Stone’s indictment. Trump attorney Jay Sekulow said it “does not allege Russian collusion by Roger Stone or by anyone else.” Trump called the investigation the “Greatest Witch Hunt in the History of our Country!”
During his brief hearing in Fort Lauderdale federal court after his arrest, Stone was granted a $250,000 bond that was jointly recommended by U.S. prosecutors and his defense team.
Stone was shackled around the waist, wrist and ankles during his first appearance before Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow.
The courtroom was packed with journalists and spectators, while dozens of TV news cameramen and photographers waited outside the courthouse.
Stone thanked the judge after she granted his bond, which restricts his travel to South Florida, Washington, D.C., New York City, and the eastern area of Virginia.
The judge asked Stone to surrender his passport as a condition of his bond. He told her that he does not own a current passport because his had expired.
Prosecutors Jared Strauss and Aaron Zelinsky with the U.S. attorney’s office in South Florida also requested that Stone undergo a substance-abuse screening.
The judge ordered one as part of his bond conditions.
Stone’s arraignment date must still be set in the federal court in Washington, D.C. In the meantime, Stone will be able to stay at his Fort Lauderdale home as he awaits trial. Stone’s defense team consists of Fort Lauderdale lawyers Bruce Rogow, Tara Campion, Robert Buschel and Grant Smith.
Outside the courthouse, Rogow, the most prominent member of Stone’s team, called the FBI’s early morning arrest of the longtime GOP political operative a “spectacle.”
The Eleventh Circuit’s “White Out” Opinions
Rubbin’ Out Kaplan lawyers criminal fraudulent transfers via fake billing; https://t.co/gSlENYszUE
Expunging Lyin’ Judge Marra’s perjurious words from their Opinion; https://t.co/jP5XvenMmb #WeThePeopleHaveSpoken @senfeinstein pic.twitter.com/OjMhaHa9qH
— LawsInTexas (@lawsintexasusa) November 7, 2020
“Everyone knows where Roger Stone is; he’s not in hiding,” Rogow said. “The spectacle this morning with the SWAT team breaking into his house, searching the house, scaring his wife, scaring his dogs, completely unnecessary. A telephone call would have done the job, and Mr. Stone would have appeared.”
Stone himself described the scene at his Fort Lauderdale home, saying 29 FBI agents in 17 vehicles with flashing lights arrived at the crack of dawn to arrest him. He said “they could have simply contacted my attorneys and I would have been more than willing to surrender voluntarily.”
Stone is the sixth Trump aide or adviser — and the 34th person overall — charged by Mueller. The nearly two-year-old probe has exposed multiple contacts between Trump associates and Russia during the presidential campaign and transition period. It has revealed efforts by several people to conceal those communications, including the latest allegations against Stone
“I will plead not guilty to these charges,” Stone said after his release from federal custody Friday. “I will defeat them in court.”
