WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by Devon Archer, a former business partner of Hunter Biden, who was convicted for his role in defrauding the corporate arm of a Native American tribe.
The court’s refusal to hear Archer’s case means the sentence will stand and moves him closer to serving prison time.
The judge initially ordered Archer to serve a year and a day in prison, but he appealed the sentence. He is currently out on bail.
Archer was convicted in 2018 of a scheme by businessman Jason Galanis to defraud the Wakpamni Lake Community Corp., the business arm of the South Dakota-based Wakpamni Lake Community of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
Archer and others were accused of misusing the millions of dollars the corporation raised through bond issues and using the proceeds “for personal purposes, such as financing personal business ventures, buying jewelry, luxury cars, and new homes,” instead of investing the proceeds as agreed. were being “, prosecutors said in the court documents.
Hunter Biden did not participate in this scheme. Galanis pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 years in prison, while the others were tried or found guilty at trial.
Archer denied fraudulent intent, saying the government relied on factual evidence. The trial judge overturned the jury’s guilty verdict, saying there was “a real concern that an innocent man could be convicted”.
Federal prosecutors appealed, and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld Archer’s conviction last year.
Last summer, Archer testified before a Republican-led House committee investigating President Joe Biden for links to his son’s overseas business deals. Archer worked with Hunter Biden on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company.
Archer said then has no knowledge As vice president, the elder Biden tried to influence politics to help his son. He said Hunter Biden was using the Joe Biden “brand” to protect his business ties.