South Florida investigators previously probed transactions tied to Jim Biden, the brother of President Joe Biden, as part of a criminal investigation, according to Politico.
The investigators are examining a business deal involving Jim Biden as well as numerous loans issued to Americore — a failed healthcare company for which Jim Biden used to work as a consultant — by an investment fund managed by a James Biden associate, according to Politico, which granted its sources anonymity to speak freely about a sensitive subject. A 2022 lawsuit filed in Florida alleges that Michael Lewitt, the money manager running the investment fund that issued the Americore loans, effectively diverted millions of dollars via bogus loans to Americore.
Additionally, George Mesires — an attorney who has previously worked for Hunter Biden and Jim Biden — represented the entity lending the money in several of the transactions that are now being examined by federal investigators, according to Politico.
Americore paid James Biden approximately $600,000 in 2018, payments that Jim Biden has described as compensation for work that included arranging the loans, according to Politico. Jim Biden or his wife transferred $200,000 to Joe Biden on the same day in 2018 that Jim Biden received a $200,000 payment from Americore.
Jim Biden is not named as a defendant in the Florida lawsuit, and it is not known if he or his dealings are the direct focus of criminal investigations, according to Politico. The president’s brother “is not being investigated by federal law enforcement in Florida or Pennsylvania,” Jim Biden’s lawyer told Politico via a spokesperson.
Jim Biden, Lewitt and Amer Rustom — the CEO of a firm called the Platinum Group who purported to have ties to Middle Eastern capital — worked together to find foreign backers for healthcare ventures including Americore, which was in poor financial condition in the late 2010s, according to Politico. The group especially looked to Qatar as a place where they could find the investment that they were seeking.
While Americore was still in search of long-term financing solutions, Lewitt’s fund started to issue loans to the company to keep it afloat on a temporary basis, according to Politico. The first loan was made on Jan. 12, 2o18, the same day that Americore paid James Biden’s company $400,000; James Biden has maintained that those funds and an additional $200,000 were compensation for organizing the loans and other work.
James Biden then received $200,000 from Americore on March 1, 2018, the same day that James Biden cut a $200,000 check from the account he shares with his wife that was made out to Joe Biden, according to Politico.
Jim Biden was working as a consultant for Americore despite having no prior experience in the healthcare sector, and he would frequently leverage his brother Joe Biden when proposing potential partnerships with prospective investors or other stakeholders, Politico previously reported.
However, that Middle Eastern investment never came through, and Americore effectively collapsed thereafter, according to Politico. Now, the Department of Justice is probing one of the company’s Pennsylvania hospitals for allegedly hosting a massive Medicare fraud and kickback scheme.
The White House did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
