On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to review an appeal by Devon Archer, a former associate of Hunter Biden, who sought to avoid imprisonment after being convicted of defrauding a Native American tribe.
Archer had been sentenced to a year and one day in prison by a federal grand jury in New York in June 2018 for fraudulently issuing and selling over $60 million in tribal bonds.
Although U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams overturned Archer’s petition in November 2018, citing insufficient evidence against him, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reinstated Archer’s conviction in 2020. The recent Supreme Court decision, rejecting Archer’s appeal, implies that he is likely to serve the remainder of his sentence.
Archer’s lawyers argued that important legal questions remained unresolved, questioning whether district courts have the discretion to reweigh evidence when evaluating a new trial motion.
They also claimed a “simple arithmetic error” in calculating sentencing guidelines. Despite Hunter Biden having no involvement in this case, Archer previously testified to the House Oversight Committee about interactions between then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son’s business partners, including speakerphone calls during Hunter Biden’s meetings.
Archer has been ordered to serve his sentence, hand over $15.7 million, and pay $43.4 million in restitution.
