Federal prosecutors in Florida filed a civil lawsuit against Donald Trump’s former campaign adviser Roger Stone on Friday, alleging Stone and his wife, Nydia, have failed to pay the federal government roughly $2 million in unpaid income taxes, penalties and interest.
Prosecutors allege Stone and his wife owe $1,590,361 in unpaid income taxes, penalties and interest for the years 2007 through 2011, and that Stone owes $407,036.84 in income tax, penalties and interest for the 2018 tax year.
The lawsuit claims the Stones entered into an installment agreement with the IRS in 2017 that required them to pay $19,485 per month toward their unpaid tax bill. But when Stone formed a trust after his 2019 indictment, the Stones purchased a home using funds that should have gone towards the payment plan, “intend[ing] to defraud the United States” of funds meant to pay off the tax debt, the complaint alleges.
“They purchased the residence shortly after Roger Stone’s indictment and placed it in the name of the Bertran Trust just prior to defaulting on their installment agreement with the IRS,” the filing alleges. “The Stones have long owed back taxes, and they have been parties to numerous installment agreements, some of which were terminated by the IRS. They were aware that their default would result in IRS collection activity.”
Stone called the suit “politically motivated” and said he will fight the allegations.
“That my wife and I owe a significant amount in federal taxes has been a matter of public record for several years. This is not news,” Stone said in a text to CBS News. “We had worked diligently with the IRS to pay down our debt until we were financially destroyed by the politically motivated and corrupt Mueller investigation. The claim that my wife and I are living a lavish lifestyle is a laughable joke in view of the fact that we are virtually bankrupt. This is a clear sign that the smear campaign of ‘guilt by association’ to tie me baselessly to the illegal events of January 6th has failed. This case against me is motivated by blood lust and liberal hysteria over the fact that President Trump saw the clear corruption of my trial and had the strength and the courage to correct this injustice by issuing me a grant of clemency.”
Stone was found guilty in November 2019 of seven charges related to lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstruction related to former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. He was sentenced to just over three years in prison, but former President Trump intervened days before he was set to go to prison, commuting his sentence. Mr. Trump then granted Stone a full pardon before he left office.
Stone, 68, resides with his wife in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
