Former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer loses appeal in federal fraud case
An ex-business partner of Hunter Biden lost his appeal to have his conviction and sentence tossed Wednesday — and could next be headed to prison for his role in swindling a Native American tribe out of $60 million in bonds.
Devon Archer’s appeal was rejected by an appellate court, his lawyer confirmed to The Post in an email Wednesday.
Archer was previously sentenced by Manhattan Judge Ronnie Abrams in February 2022 to one year and one day in prison, noting the crime was “too serious” to let him skate by.
He was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud after a trial in June 2018.
Federal prosecutors argued Archer and his two co-defendants bought more than $60 million in bonds from the Oglala Sioux, but didn’t use them for annuity.
The trio instead used them to “build a financial services mega-company,” they said.
Following his conviction, Judge Abrams granted Archer’s request for a new trial, but that ruling was reversed by a federal appeals court and the conviction was reinstated.
Archer’s lawyer Matthew Schwartz told The Post he and his client were disappointed by Wednesday’s appeals court determination.
“Mr. Archer has the greatest respect for the American judicial system,” Schwartz said.
“While we are disappointed in today’s decision, Mr. Archer is innocent, and he remains hopeful that the courts will ultimately reinstate Judge Abrams’ careful decision recognizing that his conviction was a miscarriage of justice.”
Abrams, when she tossed the conviction in 2018, said she was “left with an unwavering concern that Archer is innocent of the crimes charged,” according to a contemprary Reuters report.
She also noted Archer was not the leader of the scheme and did not try to obstruct justice as his co-defendants had.
Abrams upheld the convictions of John Galanis and Bevan Cooney, who were tried and convicted alongside Archer. Hunter Biden, who was vice chairman of the financial services company and cleared up to $200,000, was not charged in connection with the scheme. Archer, by contrast, said he lost $10 million when the venture collapsed.
“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,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo for Archer last year.
Before he was busted by the feds, Archer served with Hunter Biden on the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukraine-based energy company.
Archer has been allowed to remain out of prison while the appeals went through the legal system.
