Federal authorities are reportedly conducting a criminal investigation into a hospital business tied to President-elect Joe Biden’s brother James, Fox News informed.
Federal authorities in the Western District of Pennsylvania are investigating now-bankrupt Americore Health and have been asking questions about James Biden’s role in the company, two sources familiar with the investigation told Politico.
On Wednesday, Hunter Biden admitted that he is under investigation for tax fraud, and a government source told Fox News the investigation was predicated, in part, on suspicious foreign transactions.
The probe was opened in 2018, and is reportedly more expansive than previously thought, implicating Joe Biden’s younger brother James.
There is no indication that Biden himself is under investigation. But the investigation could complicate his presidency, drawing scrutiny on how the new Justice Department chooses to handle the investigation. It could also draw more attention to the Biden family’s business dealings.
Two hospitals operated by Americore were raided by FBI agents earlier this year over allegations of gross financial mismanagement and complaints that it was not “in a manner that is consistent with public safety and welfare.”
The nature of Jim Biden’s involvement with Americore is disputed. He’s been described as a “principal” at Americore, according to court records in a civil case in Tennessee. But he’s denied that he is a principal at the organization.
A Politico report from September details claims from two small medical firms that did business with Jim Biden that he transferred money from Americore to himself in the form of personal loans that have still not been repaid. One former Americore executive told Politico that Jim Biden’s loans amounted to at least half a million dollars.
Tom Pritchard, a former Americore executive familiar with the business’ finances, told Politico that Jim Biden had promised a large investment from the Middle East based on his political connections, one that never materialized.
“It was all smoke and mirrors,” Pritchard said.
Other former business associates allege that in 2017 and 2018, Jim Biden, then on a spree of health carer investing, told potential partners, including at Americore, that his last name could open doors and Joe Biden was interested in the policy implications of their business models.
Biden’s campaign officials in September said the president-elect had never discussed Americore with his brother or expressed support for the business.
Americore filed for bankruptcy in December 2019 after prosecutors said CEO Grant White “improperly siphoned money from the debtors for his personal benefit.”
Tony Bobulinski, a former Hunter Biden business associate, said on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that he raised concerns in 2017 to the former vice president’s brother Jim Biden, about Joe Biden’s alleged ties to a possible joint venture with a Chinese energy firm.
Bobulinski, a retired lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, was the former CEO of SinoHawk Holdings, which he said was the partnership between the CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming and the two Biden family members.
Two sources familiar with the investigation tell Fox News that the investigation includes looking at the laptop purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden.
In October, Fox News first reported that the FBI subpoenaed a laptop and hard drive purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden in connection with a money-laundering investigation in late-2019.
It is unclear, at this point, whether the subpoenas came as part of the U.S. Attorney in Delaware’s investigation into Biden’s tax affairs. It is also unclear whether the FBI money-laundering investigation was ongoing or directly related to Hunter Biden.
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