An FBI informant pleaded guilty to four federal charges on Thursday for fabricating a story about a $10 million bribe paid by a Ukrainian businessman to then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, allegedly to “protect” his firm from a corruption investigation.
Alexander Smirnov, 43, entered a plea agreement with special counsel David Weiss, admitting to creating “a false and fictitious record” as part of a federal probe into the Bidens. This “false and fictitious record” also includes three counts of tax evasion.
The lies, including the bribery allegation, were documented in an FBI FD-1023 form in 2020, which was released by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) last year. The false claims also touched on Hunter Biden’s time on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.
Prosecutors are recommending a sentence of between 48 and 72 months in prison, one year of supervised release, and approximately $675,000 in restitution, according to court documents.
However, under the plea agreement filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Smirnov faces up to six years in prison, one year of supervised release, and must pay $675,502 in restitution.
