On December 12, 2024, Alexander Smirnov, a 43-year-old informant for the FBI, pleaded guilty to charges of lying about a $10 million bribe allegedly paid by a Ukrainian businessman to then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. The plea agreement was made with special counsel David Weiss.
Smirnov admitted to creating a 'false and fictitious record' as part of a federal investigation into the Bidens. The fabricated bribery allegation was documented in an FBI FD-1023 form in 2020, which was later released by Senator Chuck Grassley.
As part of the plea deal, Smirnov faces a potential sentence of up to six years in prison, one year of supervised release, and is required to pay restitution of $675,502. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.