Devon Archer, former business partner of Hunter Biden, has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison for his involvement in a scheme to defraud a Native American tribe called Oglala Sioux of around $60 million in bonds, the New York Post reports.
In addition to the jail time, Archer, who was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud, is expected to pay over $15 million in forfeiture by himself and over $43 million in restitution with his co-defendants.
"There’s no dispute about the harm caused to real people," said Manhattan Judge Ronnie Abrams who sentenced Arcer, and who described Oglala Sioux as one of the poorest tribes in the United States.
Prior to being arrested, Archer served on the board of the Ukraine-based energy company Burisma together with Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, the newspaper notes.
The New York Post points out, however, that Hunter “had no connection” to the fraud scheme Archer was sentenced for.
Meanwhile, Archer himself reportedly maintains his innocence and seeks to appeal the conviction and sentence, with him and his attorney Matthew Schwartz arguing that Devon was taken advantage of by those who sought to use him in the scheme.
"He came under the influence of a person he trusted too much and didn’t ask enough questions," Schwartz said.
Regarding his involvement in the fraud, Archer said that he "was doing too many things at once and not paying enough attention," and that he has "deep remorse for the victims of the crime."
The scheme in question reportedly involved Archer and his co-defendants purchasing over $60 million in bonds from the Oglala Sioux and using them to "build a financial services mega-company," instead of using them for an annuity.
"Archer became a key player in the scheme, anticipating that, when the scheme succeeded, he would helm the resulting conglomerate and, ultimately, reap massive profits from its sale," the prosecution wrote in a sentencing memo.
Judge Abrams, however, noted at the sentencing that Archer was not the leader of the scheme and did not attempt to obstruct justice and that he did not profit from the fraud and even lost money because of it.